


What If It Never Happened

by Odd_ysseus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexuality, Consensual Underage Sex, First Time, Frottage, M/M, Minor George Weasley/Harry Potter, Minor one-sided Cho Chang/Harry Potter, Tags Subject to Change, What-If, voldemort never happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-09-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 05:36:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 42,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7672141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Odd_ysseus/pseuds/Odd_ysseus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically I wanted to write a universe where Voldemort never rose into power and there was no Wizarding War.  Lily and James are alive and Harry is not the boy who lived but an average Hogwarts student.  I had to shift events around but I feel like this could be a very interesting idea. Many events and deaths I got rid of while others I just shifted or put in a different context.  Also I feel like there is not enough Cedric/Harry and I wanted to write it and I wanted to write it without all the tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alternate Introduction

            “Five more minutes Dobby.” Harry mumbled, still not opening his eyes.  By saying this, he could usually get another hour.  Most days, Dobby would leave and tell his mother, and Lily would exasperatedly, but fondly, allow him one more hour.  Today was not one of those days, because he felt another hard poke in his side.

            “Miss Lily insists that you wake now, sir.” Dobby asserted.

            Harry finally opened his eyes, looking into the tennis ball-sized orbs.  Reluctantly, he finally stretched out and sat up in his bed.  He looked over to Hedwig, perched by a window that he always leaves open for her.  She was glaring somewhat balefully at the elf, who had apparently interrupted her rest as well.

            _At least she’ll be able to go back to sleep_ , Harry thought drowsily.

            Then, suddenly, he remembered why he was waking and woke up fully.  He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten, even for a second.  Today he was supposed to leave to for the Burrow, home of his best friend, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family.  He was to join them for the biggest event in the magical sporting world; the Quidditch World Cup.  Harry had been to it once, when he was ten.  He had gone with his parents then and it had been one of the greatest experiences of his life.  He had been heavily disappointed when his parents had been unable to acquire tickets this year.  His disappointment had quashed by the Arthur Weasley, who had managed to acquire tickets for his family, with two extra for Harry and his other best friend, Hermione, through his ministry connections.

            He was scheduled to leave for the burrow at three o’clock this afternoon.  Harry had already packed the clothing and toiletries needed for the event.  The plan was that the Harry would leave for the Burrow by floo powder.

            Still stiff from sleeping, he slung his legs out of bed and stretched, getting blood to flow to his muscles.  Satisfied that Harry was waking up, Dobby bowed lowly then disappeared with a pop.  Likely he had gone to the kitchen to ask if he could help with breakfast, which Harry could now smell.  His stomach began to growl.  He looked up at the clock, which pointed read eight o’clock even.  He finally got up and stepped out of bed. He looked out the window, glad that the sun was not shining directly inside.  With it open he could hear the birdsong, and somewhere not so far away the shouts of children playing.  Godric’s Hollow is a smaller village, and thankfully a usually quiet one.

            He opened his bedroom door and stepped outside, only having to slightly adjust to the light of the rest of the cottage.  He moved towards the kitchen, where he saw his dad sitting at the kitchen table, a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ obscuring half of his face.  He pushed his glasses (that added to his and Harry’s likeness) back up his nose. As Harry sat down, James looked over his glasses and at his son.

            “Surprised Dobby was able to get you awake son,” he said, humor clear in his voice and the paper lowering to reveal his smile. “Though I guess it is a special day.”

            Harry smiled as Lily sat a plate with bacon and eggs in front of him.  Her green eyes, exactly like Harry’s, twinkled affectionately at her son. “I though today of all days you might be willing to get up without your extra ‘five minutes’ of sleep.” She turned back and, with a wave of her wand, began sending dishes over to the sink for Dobby to clean.

            “I’m guessing you’re already packed and ready to go?”  James questioned.

            “Packed last night.” Harry responded, lifting a fork full of eggs to his mouth. 

            “You didn’t forget anything, did you?” Lily asked, her mother hen coming to the surface, “You have day clothes? Night clothes? A Jacket? Toothbrush?”

            “I’m only going to be gone for two days, Mum.”  Harry pointed out, being sure to swallow his mouthful lest Lily scold him for manners.

            “It could be more,” James pointed out, “Remember, the game doesn’t end until the snitch is caught.  For all you know it could be days.”

            “Exactly.”  Lily smiled at her husband for proving her point, “You need to be prepared in case the match goes on for more than one night. In fact, I’m going to go check to make sure you’ve packed everything.” She strode off towards Harry’s room before he could utter a single protest.

            “Let her go.” James said, eyes turning back down to the _Prophet_. “She’s realizing that you’re starting to grow up, so let her mother you for a while longer.”

            “Just the idea of her looking through my underwear makes me a little uncomfortable.” Harry groused.

            James just arched his brow. “If she cleans it she can look through it all she wants.” Then he seemed to contemplate that for a second. “Although I guess Dobby does a lot of the laundry now.” He allowed.

            Harry let out a chuckle, but decided to heed his father’s words before digging into his breakfast.

~0oo0~

            “Remember Dear, where your jacket, be polite, and give Arthur and Molly our love.”  Lily fretted, trying to smooth down the untidy mess that is and always will be Harry’s hair.  Harry ducked away from Lily’s hands slightly and she finally gave up.  Harry had his pack, full of enough supplies for five days and was a little heavy.  Hedwig had already been instructed to fly for the burrow and would meet him there by that night.

            “I know, Mum.  Don’t worry it’ll be fine.” Harry said.  He was used to his mother worrying over him and, secretly, he greatly appreciated.

            James was standing by the fireplace, floo powder at the ready and smiling fondly at his family. “Alright, alright. Let him go Lily, if he’s late Molly will start to worry.”

            “Of course, I know.”  Lily said, letting Harry go and ushering him towards the fireplace. “Remember though, if anything happens we are only an owl away.”

            “Of course, Mum.” Harry said, placating her.

            “Remember, Harry,” James said, throwing the floo powder into the fire, the flames turning emerald green. “Speak clearly, you don’t want to end up in the wrong place again.”

            Harry nodded, remembering his unsuccessful first use of floo powder, which ended with him being thrown into Knockturn Alley.  He stepped towards the flames.

            “We love you, and be ready to tell us about everything that happens.” James said, wishing in the back of his head that he could go.

            “Love you too, and I will.” Harry said, before stepping into the fire.

            “The Burrow!”


	2. Extended Family

 

            Harry stumbled out of the fireplace, just barely stopping himself from face planting onto the floor.  The first thing he became aware of was shouting. A shrill female voice coming from just out of site.  Harry quickly recognized the voice of Mrs. Weasley.  Before Harry could focus in on what was being said, a helpful hand appeared in his line of sight.  He looked up into the face of his best friend, Ron Weasley.  Harry gratefully allowed Ron to pull him up before turning his attention back to the argument happening in the other room.

            “What’s that all about?” Harry asked, curious.

            “Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes” a girl’s voice answered.  It was Ginny, Ron’s younger sister.

            “What’s Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes?” Harry asked, now confused.

            A second girl’s voice answered, disapproval in her tone, “It’s their new ‘business venture’” This time is was Harry’s second best friend, Hermione Granger.  She glanced in the direction of the noise.

            “Mum found a bunch of order forms when she was cleaning Fred and George’s room,” said Ron quietly, leaning in so Harry could hear him over the din in the next room. “It’s joke stuff.  Fake wands and trick sweets. Problem is, pretty much all of the stuff was dangerous.  She burned all of the order forms and they weren’t allowed to make any more of it, but I guess they didn’t.  She was already mad at them for not getting as many O.W.L.s as expected…

            Anyway, they had to test the stuff but, the problem was who to test it on.  We figure that they were just testing themselves, until today.  There was this muggle who, frankly, was a bit of a bullying git.  Big and spoiled and liked to push around all the other children.”

            Harry knew the type.  His mother’s sister, Petunia, had a son named Dudley, who was fat and spoiled.  Harry had only met him twice and neither one had been pleasant.  Harry had been only two years old and Lily and Petunia, who had been estranged due to Petunia’s dislike (or envy, in James’ opinion) of magic, where meeting to attempt a reconciliation.  Petunia had not exactly been eager for reconciliation but had eventually caved to Lily’s begging.  Lily had hoped that maybe Dudley and Harry would become friends and bring the sisters back together.  It was not meant to be, as Dudley had quickly taken to prodding and pinching his cousin.  The second time had been when Harry was eight.  While Dudley hadn’t been physically mean, he’d made a point of showing off all of his toys then not letting Harry with them.

            “I know the type.” Harry said, voicing his thoughts.

            Ron nodded, having heard from Harry about these encounters. “Well, Fred and George walked past him and ‘accidentally’ dropped one of their new products. They call it Ton-Tongue Toffee.  I guess the name is sort of self-explanatory-“

            “Maybe,” Hermione interrupted, as the arguing began to increase in intensity, “We should continue this conversation upstairs and we can show Harry’s sleeping.”

            “Oh, yeah.” Ron said, catching on. “Yeah, we probably should.”

            Ron and Harry began moving up the stairs, Hermione and Ginny following behind until they eventually reached Ron’s room.

            “Fred and George are in here with us, since Bill and Charlie have their room.  Percy has his own room because he has to work.” Ron said, sneer clear in his voice.

            “What does Percy do?”

            “He works in the Department on International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic.” Ron said with a mock snooty tone. “He’s working on some report- something to do with cauldron bottoms.”

            They continue talking until Hermione eventually notices that the argument seems to have finally died down.  They go downstairs to a harried and still-temperamental Mrs. Weasley.  She perks up at seeing Harry, greeting him affectionately before asking them to assist with the set-up after letting them know that they would be eating out in the garden.  Ginny and Hermione led with the plates while Ron and Harry held took the cutlery.

            When they stepped outside, it was to see the most amusing site.  Two tables floated in the air, crashing into each other and fighting for dominance.  Fred and George cheered while Ginny laughed and Hermione did not seem to know how to feel.  One table had managed to knock the leg off of the other before there was a clatter and Percy shoved his head out of the window on the second floor.

            “Will you kindly keep it down!” he shouted, frustration clear in his voice.

            “Sure thing Perce,” said a tall red-haired man with a pony tail.  Both tables were placed neatly on the ground and a tablecloth was conjured to cover them.

            Harry had never met the older Weasley siblings before.  Bill, the taller one with a pony tail and a pierced ear, would not look out of place at a rock concert.  Charlie was broad with even more freckles than most of the Weasleys, an accomplishment in itself.  He also had more than one burn on his body pointing to his work with dragons.

            The evening was spent outside under the setting sun.  Harry wasn’t used to having so many people around him, at least outside of Hogwarts.  He was an only child and while the Weasleys were known for having large amounts of children, neither the Potter or Evans families had that reputation.  Harry’s own dad was an only child and her mother only had her sister.  With Petunia being estranged and both his maternal and paternal grandparents had died when he was young, Harry never had much family.  There were also very few children Harry’s age in the village, so he had been a rather lonely child, despite all his parents’ love and the involvement of Sirius and Remus.  Since going to Hogwarts, he had never felt less alone 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cedric in the next chapter


	3. Lurch

            Harry reluctantly woke up before crack of dawn.  Mr. Weasley explained that they would need to find a portkey in order to reach the location for the World Cup.  After a quick breakfast and Mrs. Weasley searching Fred and George thoroughly for Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products, which lead to several discoveries and a frosty departure with Mrs. Weasley calling for them to “ _behave themselves_ ”.  The walk turned out to be rather long, with everybody (especially Hermione) being out of breath by the end of it.  They finally reached the site with ten minutes to spare.

            “Alright everybody, spread out,” said Mr. Weasley, putting his glasses on. “Remember, it could be anything.”

            They spread out to look.  Harry peeled his eyes to the ground around him, looking for anything innocuous that stood out.  He was so busy looking at the ground that he did not notice the other person.  He was alerted when he turned around to see a pair of feet somewhat closer than would be expected in polite conversation.  He jerked his head up quickly, looking straight forward and with his eyes being even with the other person’s lower jaw.  Looking up slightly, Harry was met with a pair of surprised gray eyes.

            “Sorry!” the other man said quickly, taking a step back. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

            “It’s okay.” Harry says, blushing with what he tells himself is embarrassment. “I wasn’t exactly being careful myself.”

            The handsome face in front of him broke into a friendly smile.  Cedric Diggory was a Hufflepuff prefect, two years above Harry and going on seventeen.  Harry mostly knew Cedric from Quidditch, where he and Harry both held the position of seeker on their respective house teams.  Gryffindor had beaten Hufflepuff last year while reaching to win their third consecutive Quidditch Cup.  Despite this, there was no malice in Cedric’s face.  In fact, he almost seemed to be beaming at Harry.  Harry felt a strange lurch in his stomach that was vaguely familiar, and he wondered where he had gotten that feeling before…

            “Over here, son! Over here Arthur!” came a call, Harry and Cedric both looked over and saw a tall waving figure silhouetted against the gray sky.

            “My father,” Cedric said. “Looks like he found it.”

            They started towards the figure, and a quick glimpse around showed that the Weasleys as well as Hermione were also moving towards the figure.  As they got closer Harry saw the man was carrying a ratty old boot in one hand, which Harry deduced to be the portkey.

            “Amos!” Mr. Weasley greeted, shaking the man’s hand before turning to everyone else. “This is Amos Diggory, everybody. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.  I think you kids know Cedric?”

            Everybody said hi, and Cedric nodded, smile smaller than when he’d greeted Harry.

            “Are we waiting for anybody else?” Arthur asked.

            Mr. Diggory shook his head, “Everybody is either already there or weren’t able to get tickets.  Mind you, I wouldn’t have missed this for a bag full of galleons, although,” he looked around at their large group “it looks like I got off cheap. Are all of these yours, Arthur?” He looked around at everybody.

            “Oh, no, only the red-heads.” Mr. Weasley said quickly, “These two are friends of Ron’s-Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.”

            Mr. Diggory nodded at them, still smiling, although Harry noticed Mr. Diggory’s face tighten ever so slightly at Harry’s name, and the nod he sent his way was a less warm than what he offered anyone else. 

            “Alright,” Mr. Weasley said, clapping his hands together, “We’d better get ready-everybody gather around.”

            With some difficulty, they all gathered around the boot, with Harry ending up between Hermione and Cedric.  When they reached out to touch the boot, Harry’s finger brushed against Cedric’s, and his stomach lurched once more, but before Harry could really think about it he was jerked forward and he felt like he was flying into a colorful twister.

~0oo0~

            A dizzying moment later, Harry’s feet hit the ground.  Before he could regain his balance he was hit by a larger body and he fell over with the weight of the larger body pressing him down.  He looked up and was once again met by surprised.

            “We have to stop meeting like this.” Cedric smiled down at him, before disentangling himself and standing up.  He immediately offered a helping hand, which Harry gratefully took.  Looking around, it seemed as if the two adults were the only ones who had managed to remain standing, albeit looking as if they had been through a wind tunnel.  Cedric let go of his hand, and Harry was still too disoriented to decide how he felt about that.

            They were met by a pair of grumpy pair of wizards who directed them towards their campsites.  They walk across a deserted moor, thick morning mist obstructing their view.  Cedric falls into step beside Harry.

            “Sorry about knocking you down there.” He says, apologetic.

            “No problem,” Harry says emphatically. “It’s not as if any of us were exactly steady on our feet.”

            “I just want to be sure I didn’t hurt you. Anything hurting?”

            “No.” Harry assured, “Nothing’s hurt. Trust me, I’m stronger than I look.”

            Cedric chuckled at that, then he moved a little closer to Harry and when he spoke it was at a low enough register that Mr. Diggory and Mr. Weasley, who were ahead, could not hear. “Don’t worry about my dad- he’s just a little bitter that we lost at Quidditch last year.”

            Harry just nodded, not sure how to respond to that.

            They were mostly quiet for the rest of the walk, no one wanting to get too distracted.  They reached a stone cottage, with the shapes of tents visible beyond.  They said goodbye to the Diggorys, with Cedric squeezing his shoulder before leaving, which brought the funny feeling back to Harry’s stomach and a slight heat to his face.

            After getting around the muggle caretaker, who was suspicious at the “odd” behavior of the residents.  They were promptly saved by a ministry official who obliviated the muggle man.  The group traipsed across the backgrounds, eventually reaching a spot at the end of the campsite.  They set up tents, which from the outside looked innocuous but on the inside resembled flats.

            “We’ll need water.” Mr. Weasley said, looking inside an empty kettle.

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione volunteered to fetch the water, heading out for the tap shown on the map in the campground.  As they headed for the tap, the other campers began to wake up.  Some peculiar cases included a young boy engorging slugs with his father’s wand while his mother scolded him and a wizard in a nightgown arguing with a ministry official.  They also ran into Seamus Finnegan, his tent decked with shamrocks and his mother asking, with narrowed eyes, if they were supporting Ireland.  After hastily assuring her they were, they moved on.

            “As if we’d say anything else around that lot.” Ron said when they were out of hearing range.

            They gathered their water and headed back to the campsite, this time more slowly.  They ran into several familiar faces.  Oliver Wood, newly signed to Puddlemore United’s reserve team, Ernie Macmillan, and Cho Chang, the pretty seeker of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

            She waved hi to Harry, who slopped some water down his front trying to wave back.  While Ron was chortling and Hermione giggling, she just smiled at Harry with a blush on her cheeks.

            Harry felt a familiar tug in his stomach.

            Oh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since all of the Gryffindor Quidditch team's losses were either directly or indirectly involved with Voldemort, in this story they've won the Quidditch Cup every year since Harry became seeker. More of the effects of Voldemort's non-existence will show in further chapters.


	4. Mentions

            That evening, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys including Bill, Charlie, and Percy who had apparated in that afternoon entered the stadium.  They were too be seated in the Top Box at the highest point in the stadium.  There were twenty seats filled the box, with only two of them currently being filled.  One was an elderly, wispy looking witch and the other was a wizard with straw-colored hair that appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

            “Mrs. Crouch! Barty Jr.! It’s so nice to see you here!” Percy immediately rushed forward to greet the two occupants.

            “Hello… Weatherby, isn’t it?” The man drawled, something about his face saying that he had gotten the name wrong on purpose, this idea being further supported by the quick, slightly reproachful look the older witch gave him.

            “Hello, Percy,” the witch greeted kindly, “It is very nice to see you.” She offered her hand to Percy, who clasped it in both of his.

            Harry guessed this must be the wife of Mr. Crouch, Percy’s boss.  Harry had just met Mr. Crouch earlier that day, a rigid yet somewhat harried man.  The younger man, Harry guessed, must be Crouch’s son.

            “Hello, Marlene,” Mr. Weasley said, also clasping her hand. “It is delightful to see you here.”

            “Well, I’ve never been much into sports,” she said pleasantly, “But Barty Jr. here has always been a big fan.”

            “Oh, yes,” Mr. Weasley said, turning to the young man, “so you’re Young Barty. We’ve all heard quite a bit of you.”

            “I’ve heard of you as well, Arthur,” Barty Jr. said, voice carefully pleasant. He cast a look around at the others. “I see you brought you’re entire family.”

            “Wha-“Arthur looked around, “Why yes, I did actually.” He proceeded to introduce all of his children, along with Harry and Hermione.

            “Harry Potter?” Mrs. Crouch turned to look at him, “You wouldn’t happen to be the son of James and Lily Potter?” she asked earnestly.

            “Yes, I am.”

            She gave him a kind smile. “I used to know your grandparents, Fleamont and Euphemia, way back when.  It was so sad when they died.”

            Harry merely nodded.  His grandparents had died before he had even been born; as a result, he didn’t have a chance to miss them but was still disappointed that he never got a chance to meet them.

            Before Mrs. Crouch could say anything else, more people began to enter.  Arthur and Percy were both shaking hands left and right and Arthur continuously introduced them until finally the Minister for Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, came in resulting in Percy dropping his glasses and having to repair them.  He was closely followed in by Mr. Crouch, another man who Arthur identified as the Bulgarian Minister for Magic.

            Fudge and Mr. Weasley were talking congenially when suddenly, Fudge glanced over.

            “Ah, there’s Lucius!”

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione whirled around.  Edging towards the seats directly behind Arthur Weasley were the Malfoys.  Draco was Harry’s enemy from school ever since first year, while Harry had tricked Lucius into freeing their house-elf, Dobby, who now worked for the Potter family.  With them were two women, one older and blonde who Harry guessed to be Draco’s mother and who looked like she was less than pleased by the company, and a one who looked to be in her early twenties.  She was the opposite of Mrs. Malfoy in that her hair was thick and dark, with heavily lidded eyes.

            “Ah, Fudge,” said Mr. Malfoy, “How are you? I’d don’t believe you’ve met my wife Narcissa or my son, Draco? Or Delphini, my dear niece?”

            Delphini had locked eyes with Barty Jr. and was smiling flirtatiously- a sentiment he seemed to return.  She only broke eye contact when Fudge addressed her.  Harry noticed Mr. Crouch looking over, disapproval on his face.

            “Hello, Delphini, how do you do?” Fudge asked.

            “Very well, Minister, and Delphi will work.” She said politely.

            Fudge just nodded at her. “And I daresay that you know Arthur Weasley?”

            The next few moments were tense, with barely passable politeness and a snide remark or two before they finally took their seats.  Somehow, Delphi had managed to slip past her uncle into the seat beside Barty Crouch, Jr. - Mrs. Crouch’s expression had tightened somewhat but still seemed polite while Barty Jr. turned to talk to Delphi.  The Weasleys turned around back to the field.

            Ron had just had time to mutter “Slimy gits” under his breath when Ludo Bagman charged into the box, boyish face alight with excitement.

            “Everyone ready?” he asked “Minister?”

            “Ready when you are, Ludo.”

            With those words, Bagman lifted his wand and pointed it at his throat.

            _“Sonorus!”_

~0oo0~

            After the match, ending with Ireland crushing Bulgaria despite Bulgaria’s seeker, Viktor Krum, getting snitch to everyone’s surprise.  They moved through the crowd back to their campsite, celebration all around them.  Mr. Weasley agreed on them having one cup of cocoa before they would turn in.  There were verbal replays and discussion, until Ginny brought something else up.

            “Mr. Crouch certainly didn’t seem too happy about that flirting between his son and Delphi.”  Ginny mentioned in passing.

            “If Young Barty knows what’s good for him, he’ll run.” Charlie muttered.

            “Do you know Delphi?” Hermione asked.

            Charlie shrugged, “She was in my year at Hogwarts, and the leader of the Slytherin girls- and quite as nasty as you’d expect her to be.”

            “But surely that’s not why Crouch didn’t like her.” Hermione leaned forward, curious.

            “He probably didn’t like his son flirting with guests of Fudge.” Mr. Weasley said charitably.

            Bill only snorted, “More likely because of who her parents were.” Percy looked increasingly uncomfortable at the direction of the conversation.

            “Who were her parents?” Harry was curious himself now.

            “Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange.” Surprisingly, it was Mr. Weasley who answered. “Two of the biggest advocates of blood purity you could ever meet, and they were violent about it as well.  They’re in Azkaban now, because they murdered a married couple- both of whom were muggle-borns.”

            Harry was shocked.  He knew that several pure-blood wizarding families-such as the Malfoys-against wizards and witches born from non-magical parents, but to take that prejudice to actual _murder_.

            “Blimey” Ron said, looking a little green.  Hermione had actually paled considerably.

            Mr. Weasley nodded, a look of disgust on his face. “Anyway, the couple had two daughters, and when their parents were convicted they were placed in the care of their aunt and uncle, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The other one, Susanna, is currently attending Hogwarts now- she’s a year above you, Ron, Harry, Hermione.”

            Harry found himself thinking of the Slytherin girls he’d seen at Hogwarts, wondering if one of them might have been Susanna.

            “Why wasn’t Susanna here tonight?”

            “Probably because she doesn’t live with them anymore.” Said Charlie

            “Why not?” George asked.

            “I have this friend, Tonks- she’s related to the Malfoys.  They don’t speak though, they disowned her mother when she married a muggle-born.  Susanna apparently is quite decent- doesn’t buy into all the rubbish about ‘blood purity’ that the Malfoys and their ilk push.  She eventually couldn’t stand it anymore and moved in with Tonks’ family last year.”

            “You don’t mean Nymphadora Tonks?” asked Harry.

            “You know her?” inquired Charlie.

            Harry nodded, “They’re Sirius’ cousins,” he explained, “I went over to their house a few times when I was younger.  I didn’t know they were related to the Malfoys.”

            “If I was related to the Malfoys I wouldn’t mention it either,” said Ron.

            “Anyway,” Arthur said, looking around as if afraid he might be overheard. “Barty Crouch Jr. had fallen in with the Lestranges. When they got caught, a lot of people looked at Young Barty with a lot suspicion.  Of course, it was proven that he had nothing to do with those murders, but the rumors persisted.  Back then, Mr. Crouch was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.  He had a lot of admirers, with many expecting him to be the next Minister of Magic.  That all ended when that mess started; Mr. Crouch was forced to investigate his own son.  Even after he was exonerated, the damage had been done and Mr. Crouch never quite recovered from the scandal.”

            After that, they managed to drift into lighter conversation.  After a while, they found it harder and harder to stay awake, with Ginny falling asleep at the table.  Mr. Weasley decided it was time to turn in, commenting tiredly that he was glad he was not on duty considering how loudly the Irish were still celebrating.  They all changed into sleep clothes and moved to their different sleeping spaces for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is getting plottier than I originally planned.


	5. Riot

Harry was dreaming.

            _He was playing in the World Cup, Bagman’s voice ringing through the stadium.  Suddenly, he saw the snitch.  He dived toward it, but was blocked mid dive by a large body-Cedric.  Harry pulled up to avoid a collision and then there was an angry roar from Oliver Wood._

_“Harry, this is no time to be a gentleman! Knock him off his broom if you have too!”_

            Suddenly, Harry was jerked out of his confusing dream by a frantic Mr. Weasley.

            “Get up! Ron - Harry – come on now, get up, this is urgent!”

            As the last vestiges of sleep left him, Harry realized that something was indeed very wrong.  The loud celebrations outside had turned into screams of terror and bangs like gunshot.  Mr. Weasley rushed them all outside and told them to run for the forest.  Bill, Charlie, and Percy came out, wands at the ready.

            “Go on!  We’re going to go help the Ministry!” They then rushed off towards the sound of the commotion.

            Harry looked around and saw a frightening and disgusting sight.  A group of robed and hooded figures were marching through the campsite, blasting tents away as they went.  Above the figures were four figures, two adult and two child sized.  They were being tossed around and spun viciously.

            Seeing enough, Harry spun and tore for the woods along with the Hermione and the rest of the Weasley children.  They were pushed and shoved by the other people who were fleeing the scene.  Suddenly Harry tripped and hit the ground, his hands coming forward in barely enough time to prevent him from face-planting.  When he looked up all the Weasleys and Hermione were gone.

            Suddenly, a hand came down and jerked him to his feet. “Come on!” a familiar voice said. 

            Harry tore off along with Cedric into the woods.  Cedric’s hand had down his arm and into Harry’s own.  They ran along until the crowd thinned out somewhat and they were able to slow down a little bit.  If Harry had to guess why Cedric was still holding his hand, he’d probably say that it was to prevent him and Harry from losing each other in the dark.  As Harry began to calm down from the initial panic brought on by the beginning of the night, he began to have a slight panic about how good Cedric’s hand felt in his, though not enough to want to drop it.

            “I think we’ve gone far enough,” Cedric said, dropping Harry’s hand. “It would probably be better if we just wait here.”

            “I can’t.” Harry protested, “I need to find the Weasleys, they’ll be wondering where I am, and I need to be sure they’re okay.”

            “You’re unlikely to find them while crashing about in the woods.” Cedric argued, sliding down to sit on the ground. “More likely, you’ll trip over something and end up hurting yourself.”

            Harry wanted to argue, but found the logic of Cedric’s argument too sound.  He _would_ be more likely to get himself hurt if he just blundered around the woods or, at least, get himself more lost.  Sighing, he sat down besides Cedric.

            “Don’t worry,” he soothed, “I’m sure they’ll be fine.  We just have to wait for everything to calm down then I’m sure we can find them again.”

            Harry didn’t respond at first, then a thought crossed his mind. “Wait, weren’t you at another campsite?” he questioned.

            “We were celebrating with some of my dad’s friends from the Ministry, Cedric answered easily, “Then suddenly, there was all this screaming and once we saw what was happening, my dad told me to run for the woods.”

            Harry nodded, accepting his explanation.  He didn’t talk further and neither did Cedric.  Both of them were probably too anxious for conversation anyway; Cedric worrying for his dad and Harry for Hermione and the Weasleys.  All of the sudden, a voice pierced through the night.

            “Harry! HARRY!”

            Harry sat up- that was Hermione. “Hermione!” he called back.

            They called back and forth until Hermione burst from the bushes and instantly wrapped her arms around Harry tightly.  The other Weasleys burst through the bushes after her, all wearing expressions of relief.

            “You were right behind us and the next thing we know you’re gone!” Hermione let him out of her embrace but kept a firm grip on his arms. “What happened to you?”

            “I fell,” Harry admitted, hoping the dark hides his blush, “Then Cedric found me.”

            They all turned to look at Cedric, seeming to just realize that he was there.  He was looking at Harry and Hermione with an unreadable expression on his face, although that could have just been because it was still dark.

            “It was nothing.” Cedric said, giving Harry a soft smile. He looked off to the distance towards the campgrounds.  “I think it’s over, there’s not as much noise as before.”

            “Maybe we should wait here for someone to come looking, just in case.” Ginny said, looking quite shaken.

            Seeing her fear, they all agreed and slumped down into the grass.  This time the silence was slightly awkward as well as anxious.  It was several minutes before they heard the sound of people coming towards them.  They perked up, cautious with wands at the ready, until they heard the sound of voices calling out.

            “CEDRIC!”

            “GINNY! RON! HARRY!”

            “Oh thank goodness.” Hermione breathed.

~0oo0~

            Unfortunately, all of the “ _disgusting, vile miscreants_ ” (Mr. Weasley’s words, though no one really disagreed) had managed to disapparate before the Ministry wizards could grab and unmask them.  Luckily, the caretaker and his family had been okay, if a little shaken, and needed to have their memories modified.  Mr. Weasley let everybody have a few hours of sleep before finally waking them up to leave for home, catching a rubber tire back to the original meeting point.

            Upon their return in the late morning, they were greeted by a distressed Molly holding a copy of that day's _Daily Prophet_ that covered the attack.  At her shout of relief at seeing her family, James and Lily burst out of the house to grab their son with James immediately rounding on Mr. Weasley for answers while Lily smothered her son.  Molly gave Fred and George a similar treatment, guilty for yelling at them before they left.  Harry hugged his mother back as she tearfully clutched him, relieved that her only child was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about whether or not to include the attack. In the end I decided that it was too central a part of that evening as well as a good reason to put Cedric and Harry together again before we move to Hogwarts and to let Lily be a mother. Difference is instead of Death Eaters it's just a group of bigots having a riot.


	6. Introducing

            The students filed, soaked and shivering, into the Great Hall.  They were all in the mood for the warm feast, and impatiently sat down and awaited the sorting that would greet the newly admitted students into Hogwarts.  All the students, Ron especially, were rather snappish.  They had also been plagued by a mystery that had been hanging around them since the World Cup.  Cryptic comments made by Ludo Bagman and the Weasleys, even Harry’s own parents and culminating in some snide remarks by Malfoy on the Hogwarts Express were adding to their frustration and curiosity.

            Eventually the Sorting Hat was brought out and began to sing its song.  Stewart Ackerly was the first new student and was sorted into Ravenclaw.  Harry spotted Cho clapping for the new arrival and Harry had a sudden urge to join the Ravenclaw table himself, until Eleanor Branstone became the first new Hufflepuff, and looking at Cedric clapping had Harry wishing to join that table.

~0oo0~

            Later that night, well fed, warm, and overall more comfortable, Harry settled into bed.  The mystery that had been plaguing them had been solved with the announcement of the reinstated Triwizard Tournament.  Harry wasn’t bitter about being too young to enter; he was never really interested anyways.  Fred and George, on the other hand, had been livid.  Harry had to admit he was interested in seeing what ploy they would use to attempt to enter their names.  There had also been the fact that Quidditch was cancelled for the year, which angered many including Harry, but the excitement of the tournament had wiped away most of the disappointment.

            In absence of anything better to think about, he moved to the subject that had been the star of his bedtime musings- his burgeoning sexual awakening.  He had gotten over the typical panic that came with finding out he liked blokes.  He had not told his parents, but he highly doubted that they would mind.  He knew that wizards had a different view of homosexuality and bisexuality than the muggle world- marriages between people of the same-sex was legal in almost every magical government worldwide.  Perhaps it was because witches and wizards had been outcasts among the human race that they began more understanding.  However, he knew that all wizards were always accepting.  Some families would be upset that they would not be heirs produced by the individual, or some men or women might feel uncomfortable around a gay individual of the same sex.  Harry knew his parents only wanted him to be happy.

            Then he thought about his friends, though he felt guilty for doubting them.  Hermione, logical as she was, was unlikely to care.  In fact, she would probably provide Harry with a lot of good resources.  Ron, well… Harry had to admit Ron could be pretty thick sometimes.  Still, it was doubtful that he would actually react badly other than to ask blunt questions.

            Cedric and Cho came to his mind next.  It baffled Harry that both could inspire such similar feelings in him when they were both were so physically different; Cho was short, slim, and pretty while Cedric was tall, broad, and handsome.  When Harry looked, he could not find a definite factor they had in common to make Harry attractive to them.  He had wondered which one he found more attractive, but was unable to decide.  Tonight, having them both in the same room, he felt like a dog with two owners calling to him, getting him to decide who to go to.  As of right now, Harry figured it would probably be Cedric.  Harry figured that it wasn’t necessarily because he found Cedric more attractive, but rather that he had talked with Cedric more than he did Cho.  In their interactions, Harry had gotten a positive impression; still, it’s not as if Harry knows his thoughts and dreams, but it’s still more than he’s done with Cho.

            When he falls asleep, he dreams that he is a dog.  Cho and Cedric stand equal distance away, each one calling out to him.  He took a step forward, trying to decide who to go to.  The dream changed, and he saw himself as the Triwizard Champion.  The entire student body cheered him on, and he hold the cup in one hand and a bag of gold in the other.  In the crowd he saw Cedric, smiling at him, his face full of admiration and something else.

~0oo0~

            September slipped into October an before Harry new it, they were greeting the representatives of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang.  Ron reacting like a fangirl to seeing Viktor Krum among the Durmstrang students was entertaining in itself, even if Harry was quite excited about it himself.  When they were seated in the Great Hall, with Beauxbatons sitting with Ravenclaw and Durmstrang sitting with Slytherin (to Ron’s anger and disappointment.

            “Excuse me, are you wanting ze bouillabaisse?” It was a stunningly beautiful girl.  After Ron unsuccessfully tried to answer and Harry interceded on his behalf and she took the soup away, Ron sputtered before finally rounding on them.

            “She’s a _veela!_ ”

            “Of course she isn’t!” said Hermione tartly.

            “That is not a normal girl!” Ron insisted, “They don’t make them like that at Hogwarts!”

            “They make them okay at Hogwarts.” Harry said without thinking, eyes drifting to Cedric at the Hufflepuff table.  He didn’t notice Hermione following his line of sight, expecting him to be looking at Cho but noticing it was quite off from where Cho was sitting.

            When all the plates were wiped clean, Dumbledore got up and began to speak.  Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch had joined Madame Maxime, head of Beauxbatons, and Karkaroff, head of Durmstrang, on either side of him.  They were introduced to the Goblet of Fire, which would choose the representatives for each school the next evening.

            Despite having no real plans to attempt to enter, he couldn’t help but to imagine himself, once again, holding the Triwizard Cup, Cedric’s face smiling and cheering him on.

~0oo0~

             The next day, despite it being Saturday, many of the students were early getting to breakfast.  Several students were milling around the entrance hall, examining the Goblet from outside of the golden age line.

            “Has anyone entered yet?” Ron asked Seamus, who was standing with Dean and watching the cup.

            “All of the Durmstrang lot,” Seamus answered, “Haven’t seen anyone from Hogwarts yet.”

            “Some of them probably entered last night while the rest of us were sleeping.” Said Harry. “It’s what I would have done.  Avoid all the people watching.”

            “There’s a rumor that Warrington got up early and put his name in.” Supplied Dean. “He’s that big bloke from Slytherin, the one that looks like a sloth.”

            “We can’t have a Slytherin champion!” Ron said, horrified.

            “Well it’s not up to you, now is it?”

            They turned around and saw two girls around their age that Harry vaguely recognized as being from Slytherin.  One had straw-blonde hair and a rather plain face; the other one, on the other hand, who had been the one to speak, was actually quite pretty.  She had long, shiny black hair styled in an updo, fair skin, and sky-blue eyes.  Her beauty was slightly marred by the distasteful expression on her face.  Harry couldn’t help but think she looked somehow familiar.  A prefect badge was stuck to her chest.

            “I don’t see why you are still trying to set the houses against each other when we’re supposed to be competing with the _other_ schools.” She continued. “The cup is supposed to pick whoever is the most worthy, regardless of what house they’re from.”

            “Well, maybe we just don’t want our school represented by the house that has turned out more dark wizards than any other.”

            Fred and George had arrived, accompanied by Lee Jordan.  Fred had been the one who spoke, coming to Ron’s defense; Ron, who was looking red around the ears and indignant.

            “Slytherin has turned out _plenty_ of good wizards!” said the prefect defensively. “Merlin himself was a Slytherin; my aunt was a Slytherin, and she’s one of the nicest people I know!”

            “How about the rest of your family?”

            _BANG._

            It had happened so fast that at first nobody was sure what had happened.  One second, Fred had been staring down the Slytherin prefect, the next he was twenty feet away and crumpled to the floor, while the prefect looked at him with a snarl on her face and her wand out.  George and Lee both reached for their wands and the girl turned on them, looking ready to take them both on.  Before a duel could happen however, her friend reached out for her and started attempting to pull her away.

            “They’re not worth it, Susanna!” begged the blonde girl, “You’ll get detention!”

            The prefect, Susanna, looked for a brief moment as if she would spring anyway.  After a moment, though, she lowered her wand and carefully placed it back in her robes, staring George and Lee down the whole time as if daring them to make a move.  With a final sneer, she whirled around and stalked off into the Great Hall.

            “Has a temper on her, doesn’t she.” said Ron, staring after her.

            “Well, you can’t exactly blame her, can we?” said Hermione.  Everyone just sort of looked at her, shocked that she would defend a Slytherin.

            “What?” said Hermione defensively. “Didn’t you hear her friend? _‘Susanna’_ ” When nobody seemed to get what she was saying, she continued exasperatedly. “She’s clearly Susanna Lestrange!”

            Recognition flickered in Harry’s mind.  That explained why she had looked familiar to him.  Susanna resembled her sister and aunts quite a bit, as well as a resemblance to Sirius.  It also explained why she was so angry at Fred’s jibe, with her parents in Azkaban and relatives like the Malfoys.

            “Well, it doesn’t matter now.” said Fred, having extricated himself from the floor and now looking recovered. “We’d better get going before the potion wears off.”

            “Potion?” said Ron.

            “The Aging Potion, dung brains,” said Fred.

            “One drop each,” said George, rubbing his hands together with glee. “We only need to be a few months older.”

            The attempt, of course, didn’t work.  For a second, it seemed as if Fred had gotten in, leading George to rush in after him.  However, a few seconds later Fred, once again, and George were crumpled to the floor, with voluminous white beards on their faces.  They were sent up to the hospital wing, accompanied by Lee and all three howling with laughter, by Dumbledore after he had complimented their beards.  Apparently, they weren’t the only ones to attempt an aging potion.

            Angelina Johnson entered, to many Gryffindor’s glee, along with the students of Beauxbatons.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione were fixing to get ready to enter the Great Hall when suddenly there were cheers from several Hufflepuffs.  They looked up and Cedric Diggory, accompanied by several friends, striding towards the cup with a slip of paper in his hand.  He looked around nervously until his eyes met Harry, who he gave a smile.  Harry felt heat rise to his face.  Cedric proceeded to walk, much more confidently and even with a bit of swagger, across the age line and placed the piece of paper containing his name into the Goblet.

            “I’m surprised that he’d enter.” said Seamus derisively. “I wouldn’t have thought that Pretty-boy Diggory would want to risk his good looks.”

            Several nearby Hufflepuffs turned toward Seamus and scowled.  Harry himself was holding back a cutting remark. He turned around and ended up meeting eyes with Hermione, who was looking at him with a calculating look on her face.  Harry quickly suggested heading off to breakfast, not waiting for Ron or Hermione to agree before walking into the Hall.


	7. Fair

            “The champion for Durmstrang will be Viktor Krum!”

            “No surprise there!” said Ron as cheers and applause greeted the announcement.  Krum slouched over to Dumbledore before walking along the staff table and disappearing into the next room, where the champions were to go to await their next instruction.  The flames of the Goblet grew red again and another name flew out.

            “The champion of Beauxbatons… Fleur Delacour!”

            It was the same girl that Ron had insisted was a veela.  Harry pointed as much out to Ron, who had his mouth hung open slightly and he proceeded to give her a more enthusiastic applause than was strictly necessary.  The other Beauxbatons, ironically, did not seem at all excited about the result.  Two of the girls who had not been picked were actually sobbing.  Harry wondered whether they were really that disappointed about not being picked, or if they had something against their classmate.

            As Fleur disappeared into the same door Krum had exited through, the room fell into tense, excited silence as Hogwarts waited with bated breath to learn who their champion would be.

            “The Hogwarts champion,” Dumbledore called, “is Cedric Diggory!”

            “No!” said Ron loudly, but only Harry was close enough to hear.  The Hufflepuffs had broken out into thunderous applause; cheering, stamping, and clapping for all they were worth.  Grinning widely, Cedric walked up to the headmaster, then turned right and disappeared through the same door as the other champions.

            “I can’t believe it.” Ron groaned after they had Dumbledore had given his speech congratulating the champions and encouraging each school to give them their full support. “Of all the people, it had to be Pretty-boy Diggory!”

            “Give it a rest, Ron.” scolded Hermione, giving voice to the thoughts Harry was having a progressively harder time holding in. “Cedric was chosen fair and square, there’s no point in whining about it now.”

            Ron still continued to grumble under his breath, to Harry’s increasing annoyance.  It was a relief when Ron started snoring after continuing to deride Cedric after Hermione was no longer in earshot.  Harry hoped that, by the morning, Ron would have forgotten about his complaints.

~0oo0~

            The next morning, Harry woke up with a stretch.  Last night’s dream had been a variation on his recurring dream since the beginning of the year.  However, instead of Harry holding the cup, it was Cedric holding the cup and Harry in the crowd.  Despite all the cheering faces, Cedric immediately locks onto Harry, his smile shining on Harry like the sun.

            It was earlier than most people would be awake, especially on Sunday.  Harry didn’t really feel like going to sleep so he decided to go to the common room instead.  He was unsurprised to see the common room almost completely empty; he was equally unsurprised to see that Hermione was the only occupant.  She was studying by the fire, a large tome in her hand.  Harry was relieved to see no S.P.E.W. badges nearby.  Still somewhat sleepily, Harry took a seat across from her.

            She looked up, seemingly just noticing that he was there. “Hi, Harry.” She greeted.  Then to Harry’s surprise, she put a mark in her book and set it aside before looking at Harry, somewhat nervously.

            Harry perked up when he noticed her mood.  When she wasn’t immediately forthcoming, Harry himself became nervous.

            “Is there something wrong, Hermione?” Harry asked.

            “No. Or, at least, I don’t think there’s anything wrong.” she said, choosing her words carefully.

            “Okay.” Harry said slowly, confused. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

            “No, something I want to ask actually.” Hermione said, gathering her nerve. “it’s just that… and I may be wrong, so no need to get defensive if I am… I’ve noticed you acting a little strangely.”

            “How so?” said Harry, beginning to know where this was heading.

            “Well, it’s just that I’ve noticed you were… well… looking at Cedric Diggory.”  She said the last part kind of fast, like ripping off a band aid.

            “Yes.” Harry said, simply. “I have been.”

            She looked up at him, eyes wide but not necessarily surprised. “Oh,” she said quietly. “so, are you saying you’re…?”

            “Gay?” Harry said, the word tripping off his tongue. “I don’t think so, because I’m still attracted to girls.  I’m just also attracted to blokes as well.  I guess that would make me bisexual.”

            Hermione nodded along in agreement. “Makes sense.  After all, you really did seem to fancy Cho before.” a curious expression appeared on her face. “Do you still fancy Cho?”

            Harry thought about it before he tried to answer. “I did.” he said, “I do still think she’s pretty, I just don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with her.  I didn’t realize that I liked Cedric until the World Cup.  At first, I think I liked them about the same, but then I actually talked to Cedric, and I guess he started pulling ahead.  It’s not as if we’re close or anything, it’s just that we’ve had more interaction.”

            Hermione just nodded along understandingly. She acted as if everything Harry was saying made perfect sense- and perhaps to her it did.  For that, Harry was grateful.

            “I just want you to know that I support and accept you.” Hermione said, her face earnest.

            “Thank you.” Harry said, some weight falling off of his shoulders. “Maybe we should hold off on telling Ron, though.  At least for the time being.”

            She accepted Harry’s decision, though did warn him he would have to let Ron know eventually.  Harry agreed, feeling significantly lighter.

~0oo0~

            Mid-November, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament was looming ever closer.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, enjoying their Hogsmeade weekend.  They were speculating about what the first task might be when suddenly there was some commotion by the door.  A group of Hufflepuffs, Cedric among them.  Ron started grumbling, annoyed.  He had mostly stopped complaining about Cedric, though he still grumbled under his breath whenever the Hufflepuff was in sight.

            Suddenly, Cedric’s head swung around and his gaze fell on the three of them.  A wide smile broke out on his face, and he turned to his admirers and said something.  He then separated from them and began to walk towards them.

            “Hi, Harry.”  he said, then added on rather quickly. “Hi Ron,” leaving Ron looking quite surprised, then he turned to Hermione and it could have been Harry’s imagination, but he thought Cedric’s smile became a little forced. “and… Helene?” he said, a look of innocent confusion on his face.

            “Hermione.” she corrected patiently.

            He nodded at her, before turning back to Harry. “I feel so guilty that I haven’t spoken to you in since the World Cup.”

            “Not completely true.” Harry amended. Cedric had said hi to him once or twice while passing him in the halls.

            Cedric leaned onto the table, leaning closer to Harry. “You’re more generous than I deserve.” He stood back up straight and glanced over to the other side of the inn. “I’d better get back. I’ll see you later.”

            “See you,” Harry managed in a normal voice while Cedric walked away.

            “For a second there it looked like he was coming on to you.” Ron commented.

            It was a good thing Harry had not yet taken a drink of his butterbeer, or else he surely would have done a full spit take.  As it is, he choked on nothing and he could feel the heat rising to his face.  Hermione was looking at him sympathetically, before pointing out Hagrid, who had just walked in with Professor Moody.  Harry blinked at her gratefully.

~0oo0~

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione snuck back into the common room under the cover of the invisibility cloak.

            “I can’t believe it!” Ron gasped, still shaken. “Dragons! Bloody dragons!  They’re going to get the champions killed!”

            “Not Fleur and Krum.”  Hermione said pointedly. “Not if Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff have anything to say about it I’ll bet.”

            Hermione had a point, Harry thought bitterly.  With Maxime and Karkaroff knowing, Cedric would be the only one going in unprepared.  Harry thought that if Hagrid should have been showing the dragons to anyone, it should have been Cedric instead of Maxime.

            “Harry, I think you should tell Cedric about the dragons.” Hermione said suddenly.

            “Hermione!” Ron gasped. “You want Harry to help Cedric cheat?”

            “I’d tell him myself, but he knows Harry better than he knows me or you.” Hermione said. “Besides, I care about being fair more than following the rules. And if Fleur and Krum know about the dragons, then Cedric should too.”

            “I’ll try.” Harry said.  Beside him, Ron still looked shocked but didn’t argue.

            The next day Harry followed Cedric from breakfast before Herbology.  Unfortunately, by the time Harry caught up he had already joined up with a group of his friends on his way to class.  He didn’t want to deal with them, and for a second thought about splitting Cedric’s bag, but shook it off.  In the end, he decided to just take the direct approach.

            “Cedric!” he called after him.  The older boy turned around and smiled at Harry, which caused his stomach to lurch.

            “Hey, Harry.” He said, while the other sixth years looked around curiously.

            “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

            Cedric looked confused, but still said “Sure.” He turned to his friends. “Tell Flitwick I’ll be along in a minute.”

            Accepting this, the others continued on.  Harry watched them all enter the classroom before turning his attention to Cedric.

            “Harry, is something-“

            “Dragons,” said Harry. “the first task is dragons.”

            “What?” Cedric’s smile fell.

            “They have three - one for each of you.  You have to get past them.” he rushed out.

            Cedric stared at him, a flash of panic entering his gray eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked in a rushed voice.

            “Dead sure.” Harry confirmed. “I’ve seen them.”

            “But how did you find out?” Cedric asked, some suspicion creeping into his tone.

            “Never mind.” Harry said.  He didn’t want to get Hagrid into trouble.  Harry was starting to think that showing the dragons to Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been a roundabout way of telling Cedric.  “But I wasn’t the only one who saw them- Maxime and Karkaroff were there too, so Fleur and Krum probably already know.”

            Cedric looked considerably pale.  Harry was afraid that he might actually faint- or have a panic attack.  He seemed to be breathing a little harder than normal.  After a moment, he seemed to recover himself a little.

            “I have no idea how to thank you for telling me this.” Cedric said emphatically.

            “You don’t have to thank me,” Harry insisted. “it’s only fair that you know.”

            Cedric looked at him for a second, he looked at Harry with a conflicted expression. All of the sudden, Harry was being pulled into a tight hug.  He felt as if his entire body was being lit on fire, and his stomach felt like it was full of pixies.

            “Thank you.” Cedric said, before releasing Harry.  His cheeks looked a little darker than normal as he beamed at Harry.  Harry couldn’t be sure because Cedric turned around and disappeared into the classroom, leaving him standing there with his limbs frozen in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick FYI, Mad-Eye is actually Mad-Eye. There is no nefarious plot including Harry or the tournament. Also I know the relationship is developing slow but be patient! I'm getting there ;-)  
> Have a nice day


	8. Prospects

“Potter! Weasley! _Will you pay attention?_ ”

            Harry and Ron, who had been sword-fighting with a pair of fake wands from Fred and George, looked up to see Professor McGonagall looking at them crossly.  They had copied the homework and were waiting for the bell to ring.  They turned to attention and McGonagall continued.

            “The Yule Ball is approaching – a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests.  Now, the ball will be open to fourth years and above – although you may invite a younger student if you wish –“

            Several girls were giggling, trying fruitlessly to hold the sounds in.  Professor McGonagall ignored them, which was distinctly unfair since she had told off him and Ron.  After a thinly veiled threat about what would happen if any Gryffindor students were caught misbehaving at the ball, the bell rang and they were dismissed.

            “That explains why they had dress robes on our school lists, and why our parents weren’t expecting us back for Christmas.” Harry commented as they left.

            “Hm.” Ron seemed lost in space for a minute before saying, “You have any idea who you might wanna ask?”

            No, Harry did not.  His mind immediately flashed to Cedric, who he of course knew was not an option.  His mind moved to Cho.  Despite having his thoughts mostly full of Cedric, Harry still found Cho to be extremely pretty.  Harry never really did give her a chance, all things considered and especially since she was statistically more likely to be attracted to him than Cedric was.  Still, it would be hard for him to build up the nerve to ask her.

 

~0oo0~

            Harry climbed through the portrait hole in severely low spirits.  He had just asked Cho to the ball.  He was distracted from his dour mood by seeing an ashen-faced Ron being comforted by Ginny, who appeared to be holding back a smile.

            “What’s up, Ron?” said Harry, joining them.

            Ron looked up at Harry, but seemed to be looking at something horrible.

            “Why did I do it?” he said wildly. “I don’t know what made me do it!”

            “What?”

            “He – er – just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the prom with him.” Ginny seemed to be barely fighting back a smile, but was still patting Ron comfortingly.

            “ You _what_?” gasped Harry.

            Ron went into his horror story.  Apparently, Fleur was talking to Cedric when Ron had walked by and had the sudden, irresistible urge to ask her to the ball in front of the entire courtyard.  Ron hadn’t even waited for an answer before running for it.

            “Maybe she really is part veela,” offered Harry, “She was probably turning on the charm for Cedric and you got caught in it.  She was wasting her time, anyway- Cedric is going with Cho Chang.”

            Ron looked at him.

            “I asked her to go with me just now,” said Harry dully, “and she told me.”

            “This is mad.” said Ron.

            “What’s mad?” Hermione had just walked on the scene.

            “Ron asked Fleur to the ball – got hit with her veela charm. And I asked Cho, but she’s already going with Cedric.” said Harry.

            Hermione looked at him with sympathy.

            Ron suddenly looked up at Hermione as if he had never seen her before. “Hermione,” he said, “ _You’re_ a girl…”

            Oh, no.

            “Oh, well spotted.” she said acidly.

            “Well, you can come with one of us!”

            “No, I can’t” snapped Hermione, “I’m already going with someone.”

            “No, you’re not!” said Ron angrily, “You just said that to get rid of Neville.”

            This was not going to end well.  Harry began to back away towards the dormitories.

            “Oh, did I?”

            As Harry quietly fled up the stairs to the dormitory, he heard Ron assuring Hermione that they know she’s a girl.  Harry made it up the dormitory with just as Hermione went in.

            Harry collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes.  The knowledge that the two people he was most attracted to were going out had really dampened his spirits.  After a few minutes, he felt someone sitting on the bed with him.  He expected to see either Ron coming to complain about how rash Hermione is, or Hermione coming to commiserate with him about his romantic life.  Instead, when he opened his eyes it was to see George Weasley looking down at him with an unusually gentle gaze.

            “I overheard,” he said simply.

            Harry sighed and flung his arm over his face.

            “I do have a question though,” George began, “are you more disappointed because she’s going with Diggory, or because Diggory is going with her.”

            That had Harry sitting up so fast he was surprised he didn’t get whiplash.  He looked into George’s face, and saw nothing but kindness there.  Harry gulped, then took the plunge.

            “Both, actually,” said Harry quietly, “more about the second one, though.”

            George nodded, “I understand.  Not really about the first part, but definitely the second part.”

            Harry looked at him, surprised “So… you’re….”

            “As a tangerine.” said George. “I guess, out of six brothers, one of us had to be.  Most people probably think it would be Charlie, but I think he’s more interested in dragons than people.”

            “Does anyone know?” asked Harry.

            “Fred, of course – and Lee.  Most of the people in my year probably know, actually.  Along with a few blokes that I’ve gotten around with.  Most of the family doesn’t know, though that’s more or less because I haven’t bothered to tell them.”

            “Huh,” Harry didn’t know what else to say.

            “Anyone know about you?”

            Harry paused for a second, “Only Hermione and, now, you I guess.”

            “Well, if you want to talk to anybody – about the boy parts, anyway – I’m here.”

            “Thanks, George.” said Harry, once again having the feeling of weight falling off his shoulders.

            George smiled at him then, after a bit of hesitation, leaned in to kiss Harry on the cheek.  When he pulled back, he stopped about halfway then his eyes met Harry’s.  He leaned forward again, this time with his lips resting against the other boys.  There was a few seconds where neither of them moved before, without thinking, Harry began to lightly move his lips.  Harry had never kissed anybody before, so he kissed slowly and cautiously.  George picked up the slack quickly though, sucking on Harry’s bottom lip.  Somehow, they ended up lying down side by side on the bed, George had one hand thrown carelessly over Harry’s middle and the other one cupping his neck. Harry carefully places his own hand on George’s waist.  George began to lick Harry’s lip, seeking entry, which Harry granted after a few moments.  They were cut off after about three minutes of this by the sounds of someone choking.

            They both jumped up and looked at the doorway.  Ron stood there, eyes as wide as Hedwig’s and face a deep red.  He stuttered out a quick “sorry” before stumbling backwards and out of the room.

            George sat up and sighed. “I guessed we had better go talk to him.”

            “Yeah, I guess so.” said Harry, blushing profusely.

            George looked at him for a second. “Okay,” he began, “let’s get this out of the way.  You’re clearly still hung up on Diggory and, while I’m not averse to you, I don’t currently do not have any significant feelings for you and would not rather develop any while you’re still hung up on another guy.  So what do you say? Friends?”

            Harry heaved a sigh of relief. “Friends,” he agreed.

            “Good,” said George. “Maybe, if a few years down the road if we’re both single and not emotionally attached, we can give it a go.”

            “I think I can agree with that.” Harry said.

            “Excellent,” George said, “one more thing, how attached are you to the closet?”

            “I don’t know,” Harry glanced back in Ron’s direction, “not really that much now, I guess.”

            “Okay then,” George says, “In that case, Harry Potter, will you go to the ball with me?“ He smiled at the expression on Harry’s face, “as friends.” He added at the end

            Harry thought about it for a second, giving George and exaggerated appraising look. “Sure, why not?” he said, feeling suddenly daring.

            “Good, now how about we go talk to my little brother before he bursts into flames?” he said, drawing a laugh out of Harry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the tags some. This is still a Cedric/Harry story.


	9. Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're getting there.

            _Dear son,  
            It is good to hear that you are getting along well.  We are sorry that we won’t be seeing you over the holidays, but all the same we hope you have fun at the ball.  Tell George we said hello and we hope that you two have fun at the ball “as friends”. _

_We would also like to let you know that we love you know matter who you decide to love yourself, and that we still expect grandchildren no matter how they come about._

_Have a fantastic time and we’ll see you at the Easter holidays.  Also, Sirius and Remus say hi (Sirius has been getting rather chummy with Pamela Dancer, the muggle from down the street, since she and her husband separated – don’t let Sirius know that we told you) and send you their love._

_Love,  
                        Mum and Dad_

            “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about.” said Hermione.

            “Yeah,” said Harry, “we were beginning to worry that Sirius was going to be alone forever.”  George, sitting beside Harry, let out a snort at that.

            “I don’t know,” said Ginny from beside Hermione, “she may not be looking for a serious relationship if she’s just separated from her husband.”

            “Well,” said Harry, “what the letter doesn’t say – and what Mum thinks I don’t know – is that Sirius was getting chummy with Mrs. Dancer for months before she and her husband separated.”

            Hermione and Ginny looked positively scandalized, while Fred and George and Ron were laughing heartily.  Harry was joining in when something caught his eye from the Hufflepuff table.

            From the corner of his eye, he could see that Cedric was trying to subtly catch his eye from the Hufflepuff table.  Harry pointedly ignored him.  He had been ignoring Cedric when he says hi to him in the corridors.  Harry knew it was rather childish – Cedric probably didn’t know why Harry was giving him the cold shoulder, unless Cho told him that Harry had asked her to the ball in which case he probably thought Harry was mad because Cedric had gotten to Cho first.  As far as Harry was concerned, Cedric could think whatever he wanted.  Harry had been working firmly to get over his crush, mostly by deciding that Cedric was in fact a useless pretty boy who didn’t have enough brains to fill an egg cup.

            “Who are you going to the ball with?” Ron asked suddenly, in another attempt to surprise an answer out of Hermione.

            Hermione just ignored him, still refusing to share the name of her date with anyone but Ginny.  She had even been unwilling to tell Harry, saying simply that it was a surprise.

            Ron had taken the news of Harry and George’s sexual orientation gracefully.  At least, he did after a solid five minutes of George and Harry explaining it to him while he could do nothing but sputter.  He had been extremely relieved to know that Harry and George were not, in fact, dating and that the them making out had been a one-time fluke.  He actually managed to figure out on his own about Harry’s crush on Cedric.  In solidarity, he had resumed his Cedric bashing, talking about how he was not good enough for Harry anyway, which had warmed Harry’s heart.  George still had not told the rest of his family, deciding to wait until after the ball.  George insisted that it was not because he was afraid of his family reacting negatively so much as George was afraid that Mrs. Weasley would probably start a campaign to get Harry and George to genuinely date so that they could have Harry in the family.

            “Why don’t you worry about your own date, Ron?” said Hermione sharply.

            “I don’t get why you won’t tell us!” Ron said sharply though not as offended as he could have been.  Ron had been asked to the ball by Lavender Brown, which he immediately said yes to, deeply relieved.  The choice had seemed to rub Hermione the wrong way, though; probably because Hermione and Lavender did not get along that well.

            Not wanting to get involved, Harry turned back to his breakfast, leaving them to bicker.

~0oo0~

            The next day, Christmas began with Christmas presents and a visit from Dobby, who gave him a pair of amusingly mismatched socks.  His other presents were more satisfactory, getting packages from Sirius and Remus, Mum and Dad, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, and the typical package from Molly Weasley including his annual sweater and delicious food.  One present stuck out to him though.  It was unmarked, which was strange in itself, and when Harry opened it he found a new pair of seeker’s gloves. They fit him perfectly and were extremely comfortable around his hands.

            He continued with his morning, pushing the mystery gift from his mind.  After breakfast, most of the morning was spent in the Gryffindor tower, everyone enjoying their presents.  They returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, the Hogwarts elves having really outdone themselves, then proceeded to the grounds where Harry and the Weasleys engaged in a snowball fight with Hermione playing spectator.

            After he had shown relief at Harry and George not actually being together, George had taken to torturing Ron by overtly flirting with Harry.  Mostly this included innuendos about offering to warm Harry up after the snowball fight, and with him getting more handsy with Harry than necessary.  Ron just sputtered and Harry didn’t do much to discourage it even if he didn’t really participate, if only because Ron’s reactions were a little too funny.

            Hermione left around five o’clock, stating that she needed to get ready for the ball.  Ron had asked her why she would need three hours and received a snowball to the head in return for his lapse in concentration.  He once again tried to startle Hermione into telling him who she was going to the ball with, but she only waved and disappeared into the castle.

            At seven o’clock, when it was too dark to see outside properly, the boys finally went in to get ready for the ball.  Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory.  Ron had used a Severing Charm to cut off the lace, which did succeed in making the maroon robes look less like a dress but left the edges torn and frayed.  With the boys dressed, they set off downstairs.

            Fred and George both looked dashing in their dress robes, Harry had to admit.  Fred was already joined by Angelina Johnson, who would be his partner.  Lavender stood a little away from them, waiting for Ron in yellow dress robes which Harry noted would clash horribly with Ron’s… well, everything.  Her eyes widened as she looked at Ron although, too her credit, she was still smiling widely even as her eyes fell on the frayed cuffs of Ron’s sleeves.  Parvati, on the other hand, was having a much harder time covering her distaste from beside Lavender.

            “Ready to go, my gentleman?” George said, offering his arm to Harry.  Harry looked at it for a second before linking their arms together.  Fred gave him a wink and Angelina was grinning.

            “Have you seen Hermione?” Ron asked.

            “No,” answered Parvati, who had met up with Dean.  Lavender deflated a little at this question and her smile no longer reached her eyes.

            The entrance hall was full of students, all waiting for the doors to the Great Hall to open at eight o’clock.  People who were meeting partners from other Houses were moving through the crowd looking for each other.  Ron ducked behind Harry as Fleur passed by on the arm of Roger Davies from Ravenclaw.

            “Where is Hermione?” Ron said again.  Lavender was looking rather sulky at this point and neither of them noticed as they bumped into someone else.

            “Watch where you’re going!” snapped Susanna Lestrange.

            Harry was slightly stunned for a second as he laid eyes on her.  She was dressed in dress robes of light blue that brought out her eyes beautifully.  She was adorned in silver jewelry and her updo was more styled and intricate than normal.  All in all she looked almost as pretty as Fleur.

            “Sorry, your highness.” said Lavender haughtily, Ron had grown slightly pink when he looked at her and kept quiet.

            Susanna gave her a withered look, then she turned to look at the rest of their group.  She looked over Harry over in a way that was not disapproving.  She looked over in Fred and Angelina’s direction, Fred seemed to be trying his hardest not to look at her and Angelina was smiling politely.

            “You look nice, Angelina,” Susanna said.

            Angelina’s eyes widened slightly and Fred was shocked into looking actually look at her.

            “Thank you,” Angelina said, surprise in her voice. “you look nice as well, Susanna.” Susanna nodded, accepting the compliment.

            “Where’s your date?” Fred said out of the blue.

            Susanna seemed surprised that he had spoken to her.  Before she could answer a handsome Beauxbatons boy with light hair appeared, as if conjured.  He spoke to her in French, and Susanna answered him, also in French.   She bid goodbye without answering Fred and, as she turned away, they could see that her dress was backless, and also they could see the silver snake hanging from the back of her necklace against her bare back.

            “Slytherin,” Fred snorted.  Angelina looked more amused than anything at this point.

            The oak doors opened and the Durmstrang students entered, following Professor Karkaroff.  Harry could almost hear Ron’s jaw hit the floor.  Accompanying Viktor Krum, hair sleek and shiny and tied into an elegant knot and wearing periwinkle blue dress robes, was Hermione.

            “Champions over here, please!” Professor McGonagall’s voice called.

            Ron was now determinedly looking away from Hermione and Krum and had decided to finally pay attention to Lavender, who was appearing satisfied at this.  Harry got a glimpse of Cedric with Cho on his arm, wearing beautiful Asian style robes and then Harry was looking away as well.

~0 Hermione 0~

            Hermione walked over to Professor McGonagall, linked arm in arm with Viktor.  A small, malicious part of her had been supremely satisfied by the look of absolute shock on Ron’s face when she had appeared.  Granted, she had been equally shocked when she found out that Viktor had been going to the library for months, trying to build up the nerve to talk to her.

            As she walked up to join the other champions.  She avoided looking at Cedric and Cho out of solidarity with Harry, although she knew, logically, that Cedric and Cho were not to blame for Harry’s feelings.  Professor McGonagall instructed them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they would wait until everyone was sitting before they would enter.

            “Hermione?” came a shocked voice next to her.

            She looked over at Cedric, who had an extremely surprised look on his face.  Cho also looked surprised, but was smiling at Hermione.

            “Hello, Cedric,” she answered him politely, “is something wrong?”

            “What? No. I’m just surprised…” _to see you here with Viktor Krum_ , Hermione finished for him in her head.

            “Well, life is full of surprises.” Hermione responds, a little pointedly.

            “No!” Cedric said, seemingly realizing how bad he had sounded. “I just thought you would have come with Harry!” he winced, eyes flicking over to Viktor.  Cho looked slightly embarrassed.

            _She must have not told Cedric that Harry asked her to the ball._

            Hermione did not have to look over at Viktor to know that he was scowling, it had taken a lot of convincing to get him to believe there was nothing going on between her and Harry.

            “Harry and I are not together,” Hermione told Cedric firmly, “we have never been.  We’re just friends.”

            “Oh.” Cedric said, a contemplative look suddenly appearing on his face.

            “So, who is Harry going with?” asked Cho.  Cedric snapped to attention at that and suddenly was focused on Hermione, awaiting the answer.

            The intensity on Cedric’s face confused Hermione for a few seconds before a thought popped into Hermione’s head.

            _Does Cedric actually like Harry?_

            Surreptitiously cataloguing Cedric’s reaction, Hermione answered her.

            “George Weasley.”

            The reactions were instant and satisfying.  Cedric looked as if he had been slapped in the face and Cho’s eyes had popped extremely wide and her mouth fell open slightly.  Roger Davies looked around – being captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, he would know of George and Harry – and even Fleur looked over with slight interest, although Hermione noticed that she was looking at Cedric’s reaction.  A small smile appeared on Fleur’s face, apparently amused and a little satisfied that Cedric’s immunity to her charms had apparently been explained.  Viktor had no reaction, seeing as Hermione had already told him and he had been unconcerned even then – in fact, he’d seemed almost happy about it.

            “Oh,” Cedric said again in a dazed voice, “so are they together then?”  Hermione noted a bit of strain in Cedric’s voice as he asked the question.

            Cho was beginning to look a suspicious, and Fleur amused.  Roger had lost interest and was looking at Fleur again.  Hermione was trying to decide her next course of action.  She could make it out as if Harry and George were together and make Cedric jealous.  The problem there was that Cedric didn’t seem like the type to try to steal someone’s partner – he may sulk, but he’d also stand aside.  Hermione could say that it was completely platonic, but she needed to make it clear to Cedric that Harry was attracted to men.

            She decided on a course of action, “They’re going as friends.  Harry’s best friends with George’s brother and he wouldn’t want to make him choose sides if he and George go south.” Cedric was drinking up every word. “There aren’t any romantic feelings currently, although there is a bit of attraction.  Over time, if left unchecked, they could become something more.  I wouldn’t bet on it though.  Especially if someone else comes along.” It was the complete truth – a convenient truth, Hermione noted.

            Cedric had paid attention to every single word she said, and now had a calculating, determined look on her face.  Cho was looking rather sulky, having realized what was happening.  Fleur was amused and was looking at Hermione with something almost like admiration in her eyes.  Even Viktor’s lips had turned up slightly at his partner’s clever manipulation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The POV will be Harry again in the next chapter and I don't know if I'll switch again, but I had to put some BAMF Hermione in there.


	10. Not too Late

            Harry, George, Fred, Angelina, Ron, and Lavender took seats at one of the many tables now bordering the Great Hall.  Harry noticed that they were rather close to the top tables where the champions would sit – only three tables away.  Pretty soon they were joined by other Gryffindors – Neville and Ginny, who had come together, along with Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell with their dates, neither of whom Harry knew.

            Soon the champions entered, and the Hall broke out into applause.  Fleur bathed in the attention, smiling winningly ahead.  Hermione looked slightly flushed but waved enthusiastically when she caught Harry’s eye; he gave her a thumbs up in return.  Hermione looked at Ron, but he was paying full attention to Lavender, who was very happy with this. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she recovered quickly.  Several of the girls from Krum’s fan club were looking at her in anger.  Krum seemed to be in higher spirits than usual.  He didn’t look at the other couple, otherwise he might’ve seen Cedric trying to catch his eye.

            George was a surprisingly good date.  He was more attentive than Harry expected or required, and frequently leaned in to whisper jokes in his ear that had him snorting more than once.  Maybe it was becausw there was no romantic pressure, but Harry enjoyed having George as his partner quite a bit.  Every once in while he would look at Hermione, who also seemed to be enjoying her date.  He didn’t glance at any of the other occupants of the table.  Once though, Hermione actually caught his eye and gave him a grin and a thumbs up that left Harry slightly confused.

            When all the food was gone, Dumbledore stood up and asked all the students to do the same.  With a wave of his wand, all the tables were sent back against the walls and a platform was conjured and the Weird Sisters stepped up.  They strummed up a slow tune and the champions entered the dance floor.  Harry accidentally looked over in time to see Cedric put his hand on Cho’s waist then quickly looked away.  He kept his eyes firmly on Krum and Hermione.

            “Come on, let’s dance.” Said George in his ear, grabbing his hand.

            “I don’t dance,” Harry protested.  He noticed that other people had started moving out onto the dance floor.

            “You do now – don’t worry, I’ll lead.” He then proceeded to drag Harry out onto the dance floor.

            George locked their fingers together on one hand, and put his other hand on Harry’s waist.  George, as promised, did lead.  It wasn’t as bad as it could have been – the dance was slow enough that many potential accidents were avoided.  Eventually Harry heard the final, quavering note on the bagpipes as the song ended.  The Hall broke out into applause and Harry immediately tried to let go of George.

            “Oh, no you don’t,” George pulled him in tighter, “It’s just now getting good.” The Weird Sisters had begun a new, much faster song.

            Harry tried to protest, but it was too late.  George began basically flinging Harry around, forcing them to move along with the song.  Once Harry had gotten over his initial panic it was actually a lot of fun.  Pretty soon, George didn’t have to jerk Harry around.  Harry even let George dip him a few times.  They didn’t stop for two songs, after which George and Harry both agreed it was time to take a break for drinks.

            They sat at their table with two butterbeers, alone since nobody had returned yet.  They caught their breath for a second, during which Harry noticed Cedric and Cho were not on the dance floor.  Harry wasn’t sure whether his feelings about this were positive or negative.  He didn’t have a chance to look at the tables before George was putting his hand on his arm to reign in his attention.

            “Fred and Angelina are going to hurt themselves,” George chuckled, pointing to where the aforementioned couple was dancing rather exuberantly.

            “Or someone else,” said Harry, noticing that a space had cleared as people tried to avoid the pair’s flailing limbs.

            “Did you know that Fred actually asked Susanna Lestrange to the ball?” George said suddenly.

            Harry snapped around to look at George. “Really? Why?” he asked, not sure if he believed him.

            “Lee dared him too.”

            Harry laughed at that. “I’m guessing she said no?” he queried, looking over to where Susanna was sitting a few tables away with her Beauxbatons date, who she was talking to while he listened very attentively.

            George laughed, “You bet she did,” he grinned, “she actually thought Fred was planning to pull a prank on her in revenge for Halloween.  She threatened to turn him into a weasel.”

            Harry nearly choked on his butterbeer.

            “The worst part is,” George said, lowering his voice and leaning closer to Harry, “and don’t tell anyone else this but – I think Fred may actually like her!”

            Harry laughed heartily at this, “No way!” he gasped through his laughter, trying to reign himself in.

            “So, do you think they may actually..?”

            “Dunno,” said George, “They both seem to be pretty stubborn.” He contemplated this for a moment, “Kind of like Ron and Hermione.”

            “I see what you mean,” Harry muttered back.

            “Big problem is,” George said, a grin in his voice, “dad would probably disown Fred if he married a pureblood.”

~0 Cedric 0~

            Cedric watched as Harry cracked up at something George said.  He'd spent the night trying not to watch them too much, seeing as when he did Cedric had the urge to kick something – namely George Weasley.  Cho sat by him, legs and arms crossed.  Cedric had only asked her because he needed a dance partner, according to Professor Sprout, and all his friends had suggested her.  He felt slightly bad at how inattentive he was being, but reminded himself that it was better than to lead her on, especially considering that he suspected she might actually have a crush on him.

            “Are you going to ask me to dance?” Cho asked pertly.

            “Probably not.”  Cedric said, momentarily thinking his mother would probably jinx him if she’d been there.

            George had just put his hand on Harry’s arm, and both of them were still chortling and having a grand ‘ole time.  Cedric went over what Hermione Granger had said right before the ball.  She had said that they were just friends, but also mentioned that there was a slight attraction.  He repeated the first part in a mantra in his head to keep himself from storming over there.  However, Cedric was afraid that, in the romantic atmosphere the attraction could get the better and could bloom into something Cedric did not want to think about.

            “You know,” Cho began, only managing to partially draw his attention at first, “Harry actually asked me to the ball.”

            That caught Cedric’s full attention.

            “Yeah,” she said, happy to finally have his full attention, “I told him no – said I was already going with you.”

            Cedric wondered what she was trying to accomplish by telling him this.  Was she trying to make him jealous?  Make him think that she wished she had said yes to Harry? Or, Cedric suddenly thought, did she realize that Cedric had a crush on Harry and was trying to make him jealous of her?  Cedric was getting to be a little mad at her.  Although, it did give Cedric a reason as to why Harry had seemed to be ignoring him, which Cedric had been wondering and was a little hurt about.

            “How interesting,” Cedric said sourly, once again turning to look at Harry and trying to scorch George Weasley with his eyes.

            A few minutes later, a boy from Beauxbatons appeared and asked Cho to dance, “You don’t mind, do you Cedric?” she asked, falsely sweet.

            “What?” said Cedric, not paying attention.

            “Oh, never mind.” Cho snapped, walking away with the boy.  When the song stopped, she did not return.

            Cedric had known of Harry since Harry’s first year, with the boy becoming the youngest seeker in years.  He had never really _looked_ at Harry though until last year.  Cedric had thought the boy was cute – gangly but beginning to grow into himself.  However, at the time Harry was still only thirteen to Cedric’s sixteen so he didn’t think it appropriate to go after the boy.  When Cedric saw Harry again before the World Cup the boy had grown quite a bit and was even more attractive.  Cedric had flirted a little, but Harry hadn’t really seemed to reciprocate.  He thought he knew why when he saw Hermione Granger throw her arms around him after the riot.  Now, seeing how egregiously he had misinterpreted the affection and that Harry was not only single but attracted to men, Cedric kind of felt like kicking himself.  After Harry told him about the dragons, his slight infatuation had grown against his will into a full-blown crush.  He only hoped that Harry would still be single in time for Cedric to ask him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I don't know how often I'll switch POV or if I'll switch it anymore. I just thought of Cedric having the same time Harry had in the book and it tickled me


	11. Impartial

            Every got up late the next day.  The common room was far quieter than it had been before, with most people running low on energy.  Hermione’s hair was bushy again, due to the Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion she had used to tame it having worn off.  Ron and Hermione, surprisingly, were still speaking to each other the next day even if they were oddly formal.  Harry asked Hermione about this when Ron was going to get dressed before breakfast (or probably lunch at this point).

            “Well,” said Hermione, her voice a bit strained, “we did have a bit of a row.  Ron had this crazy accusation that I was ‘consorting with the enemy’ and I got a bit hocked off,” she said as if it was no big deal.

            “What enemy?” Harry asked, confused.      

            “Well, Viktor is the competing school champion – although why Ron suddenly decided he supports Cedric now is beyond me.” She said in explanation. “Although he also giving me grief for talking to Susanna.”

            “Susanna?” Harry repeated questioningly, “Why were you talking to Susanna?”

            “Not all the Slytherins are bad, Harry.” Hermione scolded.

            “I know that!” defended Harry, also remembering how polite Susanna had been before the ball. “I just had no idea you and Susanna Lestrange were friendly.”

            “Well, we ran into each other at the ball,” said Hermione, “she complimented me on my dress, and we somehow started talking and she is actually really smart and nothing like the Malfoys.”

            At that moment Ron came down from the dormitory and Harry and Hermione silently agreed that they should change the subject from anything that could set Ron off, if only to keep the peace.  Or at least they did until Ron invited Lavender to go down to breakfast with them, at which point Hermione began informing Harry about how Krum had been visiting the library constantly, trying to get up the nerve to talk to her and about what a good date he had been.  She didn’t say any of this directly to Ron, but said it loud enough he could definitely hear.

            This continued through the first part of lunch, with Ron and Lavender giggling and Hermione seeming to stretch the topic of Viktor Krum for all it was worth.  Finally, they were joined by the rest of the Weasley’s at which point the apparent competition seemed to end.  George took a seat beside Harry and Fred across from him beside Ron.  Ginny took to the other side of Hermione, still limping slightly from having Neville stand on her toes multiple times the night before.

            “How’s the morning, all?” Fred asked jovially, not nearly tired enough for the type of dancing he had been doing the night before.

            “Exhausting.” Harry answered.

            “Well, the way you and George were getting on, I’m not surprised.” Fred sniggered.

            George put his arm around Harry in an exaggerated movement.  Ginny was giggling and even Hermione had a small smile.

            “I sent Mum an owl about the dance last night,” George said, “I made it clear that it was just a friendly thing, but don’t be surprised if she starts expecting you to come around more.”

            “Or if she starts planning your wedding,” Fred added, laughing.

            The meal continued jovially, with Fred making more jokes until George, probably noticing Harry’s growing discomfort, asked Fred about his own “black-haired beauty” at which point Fred gave him a dark look.  Everybody who paid attention looked slightly confused, thinking George was talking about Angelina.  Harry knew George was subtly taunting Fred about his own crush on Susanna Lestrange.

            The conversation moved onto other topics.  When they finished they decided to retire to the common room until dinner, at least until they were interrupted by Malfoy.

            “Are Potty and Weasel going to go take a ride on each other’s broomsticks?” sneered Malfoy from a group of Slytherins including Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson.

            They all whirled on him angrily, but were unable to even pull out their wands

            “What did you just say?” came a dangerous voice.  Cedric Diggory was coming out of the Great Hall, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him.

            Malfoy looked startled for a second, then looked to make sure there was a suitable number of people on his side before turning to sneer at Cedric, “You heard me.”

            “So did I.”

            Susanna Lestrange had also come out of the Great Hall, a stormy expression on her beautiful face.

            “That sort of bigotry and name-calling is shameful and unacceptable!” she snarled, glowering at her cousin. “Ten points from Slytherin!”

            “You can’t do that!” protested Malfoy.

            “Actually,” she said, pointing at her prefect’s badge, “I can.”

            Everyone in the vicinity was visibly stunned.  It was known that prefects could deduct points from their own house, but not one of them had seen it actually happen.

            “You’ll lose us the House Cup!” Pansy screeched.

            “If this is the way Slytherins act, then we don’t deserve the House Cup,” she responded darkly. “Now get out of my sight before I start handing out detentions!” she warned.

            The Slytherins looked as if they wanted to protest more, but in the face of Susanna’s anger they didn’t quite dare.  They slunk away, casting angry looks over their shoulders.

            Once they were out of sight, Susanna turned back around and looked at George and Harry with a frustrated and guilty look. “I’m _so_ sorry about that!” she said.

            “It’s okay,” Harry assured her, still slightly stunned.

            “Yeah, no harm, no foul,” said George.

            “It is _not_ okay,” said Susanna, still looking angry, “I just can’t believe –! “She stopped, seeming to deflate suddenly, “actually, I can believe it,” she sighed, looking defeated.

            Hermione walked forward, putting a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, “It’s not your fault.” She assured her.

            “No, it’s not my fault,” Susanna agreed tiredly, “but it does reflect on me.”

            “You should talk to Professor Snape,” said Cedric encouragingly, “or Professor Dumbledore.”

            “I think I’ll have to,” she said still dejected, but she brightened up slightly, “I need to go,” she said, “I’m supposed to meet Patrick in a few minutes.” She rushed out of entrance all, bidding them all a good morning over her shoulder.

            They all looked after her, and Harry noticed Fred had a conflicted look on his face.  The silence was broken by Cedric clearing his throat.

            “Um, Harry,” said Cedric, looking somewhat nervous, “is it okay if I talk to you for a minute?” he cast a quick look around them, “alone?”

            Harry looked at Cedric, confused as to what Cedric could want.  Before he could answer, a smiling Hermione started ushering everybody away.  Not a minute later, Harry and Cedric were alone.

            Cedric seemed to grow more flustered, “Uh, hi.”

            Harry himself was a little awkward, being alone with Cedric, “Hi?” he said, the word sounding like a question.

            “So,” said Cedric, hand going to the back of his head, “did you have a good time at the ball.”

            “Yeah, I had fun,” said Harry, wondering where this was supposed to be going.  Cedric’s face looked slightly strained, as if he was hoping for a different answer. “How about you?” asked Harry politely.

            Cedric shrugged, “Not really, no.  Cho ditched me halfway through.” He looked at Harry, gauging his reaction.

            Harry had to work to keep the smile off his face.  “That’s too bad,” he said, not really meaning it.  He wondered if this had something to do with Harry having asked Cho to the ball.

            “Not really,” countered Cedric. “Cho is nice and all, but I only really asked her because I needed a partner and my friends said I should ask her.  She’s not really my type anyway”

            “What is your type, then?” asked Harry before he could stop himself.  Cedric looked surprised at the question, and Harry opened his mouth to say he didn’t know what but before any words came out Cedric was talking.

            “Willyougooutwithme?”

            Harry paused. “What?” he asked, unable to be sure what the word vomit had meant.

            “There’s a Hogsmeade visit halfway through January,” Cedric said, much slower this time, “And I was wondering if, perhaps, you would like to go together –with me, on a date.”

            Harry was so stunned he couldn’t answer at first.

            Cedric took this as a bad sign, and began to ramble.

            “It’s okay if you don’t.  I know you went to the ball with George Weasley – but I heard you two were only going as friends –“

            “We were.” Harry said, finally getting his voice back.

            Cedric paused blushing.  Then he looked at Harry with his jaw shut tightly, waiting for Harry to continue.

            “I’d love to go out with you.” Harry said, giving Cedric a small smile.  He felt disconnected from his body, as if dreaming, not able to completely believe this was really happening.

            Cedric’s nervous expression broke and he was positively beaming at Harry, “Brilliant!” he exclaimed, then suddenly looked embarrassed at his own exuberance, “I’d better get back to my friends,” he said shyly, “I’ll see you around?”

            “Definitely,” said Harry.

            Cedric smiled at him, then shifted his body as if to turn around and walk away but paused, looking at Harry hesitantly.  Suddenly, he darted towards Harry.  His mouth landed right at the corner of Harry’s mouth.  He pulled back after a second, blushing.  He turned around and walked jauntily back into the Great Hall, looking over his shoulder and waving at Harry before going out of sight.

            Harry stood there for a solid twenty seconds before finally moving.  He drifted along the corridors back to Gryffindor tower.  He still felt disconnected from himself, euphoria making everything seem brighter and more inviting.  He cheerfully gave the Fat Lady the password and climbed through the portrait hole.

            Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all waiting for him when he got back.  At the look on his face, Fred and George started sniggering, Ginny broke into a fit of giggles, and Ron didn’t seem sure how to feel.

            “So, how did it go?” asked Hermione innocently.

            Harry seemed to finally come back to himself.  He looked at Hermione, who had a sly, self-satisfied look on her face.

            “What did you do?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!


	12. Interlude

                Harry’s euphoria lasted until classes began again.  The last few days had consisted of cramming in the work they had neglected during the better part of the holidays.  As a result, Harry didn’t leave the tower much and didn’t get a chance to "run into" Cedric.  The few days after Cedric asked him out had revolved a lot around them running into each other.  During mealtimes and just random journeys through the hall.

            Breakfast on the first day of break was slightly somber.  Nobody was quite ready for term to begin although the heavy workload they’d finished towards the end had helped to shake some of the laziness off.  The post owls arrived with a flurry, and Harry got a return letter from his parents, saying that they had enjoyed their Christmas alone (Harry tried not to read too much into that) and to tell them that his godfather Sirius, who had a habit of globetrotting, would be visiting for the Easter holiday.

            He was just finishing the letter when he felt a presence appear next to him.  He looked to his side, slightly startled to see Susanna Lestrange smirking at him.

            “Here,” she said, shoving a book at him.

            Harry took the book automatically and looked at the cover page, which read _Magical Water Plants of the Highland Locks_ by Hadrian Whittle.

            “The cover’s fake,” Susanna said before Harry could say anything, “my cousin didn’t want anyone to open it accidentally – Hermione asked me to ask him for it.”

            “Thank you,” said Hermione.

            “It’s no trouble,” Susanna said, before getting up and exiting the Great Hall with a wave over her shoulder.

            Curiously, Harry opened the book to the title page _A Guide to the History and Practical Learning for Homosexual Witches and Wizards._

“I wouldn’t open it any further in here if I were you,” warned Hermione, “Susie said that there would be pictures in there – moving pictures.”

            Harry closed the book quickly and shoved it in his bag, a blush creeping up his face.

~0oo0~

            “What have you got there?”

            Harry startled as the voice came from too close to his ear.  He jerked his head around and was met by striking gray eyes.  Cedric looked down at the book, which to Harry’s horror was _A Guide to the History and Practical Learning for Homosexual Witches and Wizards._ To Harry’s immense relief, though, it was one of the pages that contained history on famous homosexual witches and wizards, rather than the moving pictures that had caused Harry to flush when he first saw them.  He had marked all of the more graphic ones so he would be sure not to accidentally open to them in public (George had arched a brow at him and only said “of course”, causing Harry to flush in embarrassment).

            “Just some reading material I let him borrow,” said Susanna, barely glancing toward Cedric.

            In the absence of Ron (who was probably in some dark place locked in Lavender Brown’s grip), Hermione and Harry had decided to join Susanna and her blonde friend, who they discovered was named Carina Brandt, in the library.  Harry had found Susanna to be similar to Hermione in many ways; at the moment she was studying for her O.W.L.s, which were still not for months.  Carina, less studious like Harry, was working on homework that Susanna had already finished.  Hermione had her books, badges, and pamphlets for S.P.E.W. strewn across the table.  Every once in a while students would glance at the four of them in wonder; Harry suspected that no one had ever seen students from Gryffindor and Slytherin house sit together so companionably.

            “Looks very educational,” Cedric commented, reading over Harry’s shoulder.  His hands were on either side of Harry, effectively boxing him in.

            “I just look at it for the pictures,” said Susanna casually.  Carina burst into a fit of giggles and even Hermione snorted.

At that very moment, Cedric turned one of the pages that Harry had marked.  There was a small “oh” of surprise, then it was quickly replaced to the previous page.  Harry wondered if his face would ever return to its normal color.

            “How are you doing Cedric?” Hermione asked.

            “Good,” said Cedric, continuing to read over Harry’s shoulder.

            “It’s strange seeing you without your _friends_ ,” Susanna said teasingly.  Harry had to agree with her – since being chosen for the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric could rarely be seen without a group of people around him.  It made it a bit more difficult for Harry and Cedric to talk (flirt) between classes.

            Cedric sighed, “It’s amazing how many more ‘friends’ I’ve acquired since being chosen,” he said tiredly, even using air quotes.

            Susanna gave him a sympathetic look. “Why don’t you pull up a chair,” she said, “me and Carina are natural people repellants – all the other Houses are afraid of us because we’re Slytherin, and the other Slytherins hate me since I docked points from Malfoy.”

            “Are the other people in your house giving you trouble?” Cedric asked, pulling up a chair.

            “Not really,” Susanna soothed, “they’re mad, but they can’t really do anything about it because I’m a prefect,” she finished with a cheeky smile.

            Everybody chuckled.  Harry noticed that Cedric had sat rather closer to him than was strictly necessary – his leg was resting against Harry’s and their shoulders were brushing.  Harry couldn’t say that he minded.

            “How has the first week of term been for you, Harry?” Cedric asked.

            “I swear we must have done something to make the teachers angry over the break.” Harry muttered.

            “I get what you mean,” Cedric laughed, “I swear I must have pissed of Professor McGonagall in a past life.”

            “At least you don’t have to worry about end of the year exams.” Harry pointed out.

            “That’s true.” Cedric conceded.  He took a brief glance around the table, his eyes catching on all of Hermione’s S.P.E.W. stuff.

            “What’s all this then?” he asked, gesturing to the pile of stuff.

            Harry groaned internally, not really wanting to have Hermione badgering Cedric about joining the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare.  Before Hermione could get a word in, Susanna superseded her explanation.

            “Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare,” she recited easily, “it’s an organization Hermione here invented in order to promote better treatment for house elves – I’ve already joined, although I don’t agree on all the current goals – it’s two sickles to join.”

            Susanna had joined S.P.E.W. with only minimal badgering from Hermione.  She agreed with her that their needed to be standards for the treatment of house elves, but disagreed that they should all be freed or given wages.

            “Our house elf when I lived with the Malfoys was treated horribly,” she had told them, “I would have set him free myself if I had the authority.  Dobby did manage to get free – Uncle Lucius was furious about it, ranting about some ‘snotty child’ tricking him.” she thought for a second “I wonder who it was that helped him – I really ought to send them flowers.”

            Harry and Hermione had only glanced at each other, both knowing that Dobby was now working at the Potter household for a galleon a month.  Neither of them knew exactly how to bring this up to her.  Dobby never spoke of his time at the Malfoys, and even if Susanna seemed nice enough now Harry and Hermione wondered if all his memories of her were positive.

            “Well I think it sounds like a noble cause,” said Cedric, reaching into his pockets and pulling out two silver sickles.  He passed them over to Hermione and picked out a badge out of the pile.

            The entire table was shocked, none more so than Harry.  As Cedric was pinning the badge to his chest, Hermione met Harry’s eyes across the table.

            _Marry him_ , she mouthed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit of a struggle for me since nothing really happens. I wanted to skip directly to the date but I wanted to make sure that Cedric and Harry interacted beforehand. Cedric asks Harry out around December 26 and the Hogsmeade weekend takes place January 14 (I imagine) and I wanted to make sure it didn't seem as if they do not interact at all in between. Comments are welcome and thank you for reading!


	13. Maybe Perfect's Not the Word

                “Don’t bother, mate,” said Ron, “he’s already seen your hair anyway – besides, we both know it’s no use.”

            Harry, who had been tentatively patting at his hair in a feeble attempt to get it to lay flat, gave Ron a cross look. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to look your best,” he said crossly, “and it’s not as if Cedric’s like Lavender.”

            Ron’s ears started to turn red.  Harry had, of course, been referring to the frequent public snogging sessions that Ron and Lavender tended to engage in.  Lavender had apparently developed a love of Ron’s hair, twisting her fingers in it and making it so that Ron’s hair was frequently in even more of a disarray than Harry’s.

            “No one is like Lavender,” Ron muttered, a little darkly and absently reaching up to poke a dark bruise on his upper lip.

            “Trouble in paradise?” Harry asked idly, quickly giving up on his hair.

            “No,” said Ron quickly, and a little reluctantly. “I just need to have a talk with Lavender about personal space.”

            Harry nodded along.  Whatever unspoken competition Ron and Hermione were having, neither one was willing to give ground.  Although personally, Harry thought Hermione was winning; at the very least, she seemed to genuinely like Krum.  As time went on, Ron seemed to grow more and more weary of Lavender.

            Dressed warmly for the chill and deigning themselves ready for their respective “dates”, Harry and Ron left the dormitory.  The second they entered the common room, Ron was immediately accosted by Lavender.

            “Won-Won!” Lavender cried as she launched herself into Ron’s arms and shoved her mouth onto his.  They pulled apart a few uncomfortable seconds later, Ron had a painful, desperate smile on his face.

            “Hi, Harry,” Lavender said, finally noticing him, “are you going to be joining us.” The strained smile on her face belied the friendly tone of her voice.

            “No,” Harry assured her, “I’m actually supposed to meet Cedric,” he said before he could think better of it.

            Lavender looked surprised for a second, then she started giggling wildly to Harry and Ron’s annoyance.  She calmed down rather quickly though, and had a excited look on her face.  Harry imagined she was looking forward to telling Parvati.

            “Well, have fun then,” she said with a giggle in her voice.  Promptly, she dragged a somewhat unwilling Ron away and through the portrait hole.

            “Unnatural, isn’t it?” said Hermione, who had joined Harry as soon as Ron and Lavender were out of sight.

            “Very,” Harry agreed. “Who are you going to Hogsmeade with?” he asked, walking with her towards and the portrait hole.

            “Susanna and Carina.” Hermione said as they climbed through the portrait hole. “I’m supposed to meet Viktor later today,” she added.

            They neared the exit of the castle, they finally spotted their respective companies.  Cedric, Susanna, and Carina were standing in the entrance hall, talking.  Cedric and Carina were laughing at something Susanna had said.

            “What’s so funny?” Harry asked as he and Hermione joined them.  As he got closer he noticed that Cedric was actually blushing and looked rather embarrassed.

            “Nothing,” Cedric said quickly.

            “It’s not proper for the first date,” Susanna explained, laughter in her voice and looking quite pleased with herself.

            Something about the way she was looking at Harry and the way Cedric seemed unwilling to look him in the eye had Harry feeling rather hot around the collar.

            “Well, shall we go, then?” Carina said, still giggling but deciding to take mercy on Harry.

            They made their way to the front of the queue, Filch doing a double-take at seeing Harry and Cedric together but making no comment as he checked off their names.  They proceeded out the doors into the cold winter air.  On the steps they passed a group of Beauxbatons students on their way into the castle led by Fleur Delacour.

            “’ello, Cedric,” said Fleur as they met on the steps, smiling at him.  Harry remembered the way Ron had said about her trying to turn the charm on Cedric to get him to ask her to the ball.  Harry’s blood boiled and yet, at the same time, he still found himself captivated by her.

            “Hello, Fleur,” returned Cedric, although Harry noticed his voice was coolly polite.  Suddenly Harry’s hand was being gripped by tightly in Cedric’s.

            “And you must be ‘arry,” she said, suddenly turning her attention to Harry, her smile turning enticing.  Suddenly a desire to somehow impress Fleur entered his mind.  Before he could do or say anything, however, an arm looped around his shoulder, pulling him in tight.

            “It was really nice talking to you, Fleur,” said Cedric in a faux friendly voice, still holding Harry tightly, “but we really should be going.” Without waiting for Fleur’s answer, he frog marched Harry, who was beginning to come out of his trance, down the stairs and away from her.  The further they got away, the more embarrassed Harry became.

            “Certainly has an interesting idea of fun, doesn’t she?” Susanna said as they trudged across the snow.

            “Maybe Ron’s right,” Harry said sheepishly, “maybe she is a veela.”  Harry remembered the effect the veela had had during the Quidditch World Cup.  The influence Fleur had shown had been near identical, if slightly weaker.

            “She is.” Cedric confirmed, tone still snippy.  His arm was still looped around Harry possessively. “Part veela, anyway.  I heard her mentioning her grandmother being one.”  They continued walking together past the gates and up the path leading into the village.

            “If I wasn’t sure you were gay before, I would be now,” Susanna teased him.

            “Why?” said Cedric, still a bit cross, “because I wasn’t taken in by her ‘charms’,”

            “That and when people aren’t attracted to her, they usually try to compete with her,” Susanna said, beginning to laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a boy be so catty!”

            Cedric grumbled but did not refute her claim.

            “We can separate here,” Hermione said as they came upon the village, “leave you two to your date – we need to go to Scrivenshaft’s anyway.”

            After bidding goodbye, Cedric and Harry went farther into Hogsmeade.  Cedric had let his arm fall off of Harry’s shoulders but kept a loose hold on his hand.

            “Any particular place you would like to visit?” Cedric asked.  The two of them had begun pressing closer together in order to avoid the cold.

            “Honeydukes?” suggested Harry.

            “Sounds good to me,” said Cedric.

            They head into the shop and begin perusing the shelves.  Harry always feels giddy when he enters the shop, even if he can also feel his pockets get lighter just looking around him.  They both get an assortment of sweets.  When they go to checkout, Harry begins to reach into his pockets to bring out his money but Cedric beats him to it.

            “I have money, Cedric,” Harry protests.

            “Yes,” says Cedric, “but I’m the one who asked you out; therefore, I’m the one who pays.  You can pay for the next date.”

            His eyes glint humorously but his tone brokered no arguments.  They exit the store, pockets full of sweets and decide to head for the Three Broomsticks.  They are glad to escape the cold into the warmth of the pub.  Cedric asks Madam Rosmerta for two butterbeers before they take a table a relatively fair distance from everybody else.  They sat down, making sure their chairs were close together.  When Harry looked around, he noticed a few Hufflepuffs sitting some distance away from them.  Every once while one would glance at them and an odd realization came to Harry.

            “I’m surprised no one has walked up to us yet,” Harry commented.

            “I may have told my friends that I was going on a date and that we would prefer not to be bothered,” said Cedric innocently.

            “And did they know that date was me?” Harry asked, seeing the surprised looks on some of the faces around the bar.

            “They never asked,” Cedric said simply.  He proceeded to yawn exaggeratedly, stretching his arms above his head.  When they came down again, one came to rest on the back of Harry’s chair.

            Harry snorted, “Did you really just pull that on me?” he asked teasingly.

            “Worked, didn’t it?” retorted Cedric, smiling cheekily.  Suddenly, his eyes caught on something and the smile vanished off his face, turning into a sour and somewhat scared expression.

            Harry followed Cedric’s gaze and landed on something that made his own mood turn slightly sour.  Rita Skeeter, who Harry recognized as a journalist for the _Daily Prophet_ that had caused trouble for Ron’s dad and the rest of the Ministry when the riot at the World Cup had happened.  He knew she was covering the Triwizard Tournament, although Harry had found the reporting to be rather shallow.

            “Ignore her,” Harry encouraged, not willing to let the woman sour their date with only her presence alone.  Cedric nodded in agreement and turned his attention back to Harry.  Their hopes were dashed, however, within the minute.

            “Cedric Diggory! How nice to see you!” Rita Skeeter had appeared next to Harry and Cedric, her photographer in tow.  “I haven’t had a chance to talk to you since the first task; perhaps you would like to give us an update on your progress in the clue for the second task?”

            “You know I’m not allowed,” Cedric said shortly, “besides, I would rather not talk now.”

            Skeeter’s eyes fell on Harry and, if anything, she actually brightened up even further.

            “Who is your friend, Mr. Diggory?” she asked, looking at Harry in a way that could only be described as predatory.  Harry started to feel nervous and slightly dirty.

            “My friend – “Cedric said, the word “friend” dripping with sarcasm “ – and I are trying to have a good time, and would greatly appreciate not being disturbed by nosy reporters.”

            Harry had never seen Cedric this mad or rude.  Harry wondered briefly what it said about him that he was starting to find Cedric even more attractive.

            Her smile flickered slightly, and behind her Harry could see her an acid green quill writing automatically in a notepad behind her.

            “Of course.” She said in a falsely sweet voice.  The quill and pad flew back into her handbag and she vanished into the crowd.  A Few people nearby were now looking at them.  Harry suddenly did not want to be there anymore. 

            Cedric seemed to agree wholeheartedly, “Let’s go,” he growled, urging Harry to stand up.  After quickly paying for their drinks, they exited the building.  Cedric was muttering darkly under his breath, face sour as they wandered back towards the castle.  In an attempt to cheer him up, Harry grabbed his hand and gave him a firm squeeze.  It kind of worked; Cedric smiled slightly at him and gripped his hand back.

            They made their way back to the castle and Cedric, still a little gloomy, insisted on walking Harry back up to the Gryffindor common room.  The castle was still mostly abandoned, considering that Cedric and Harry had come back rather early.

            “I’m sorry about our date,” Cedric said as they lingered outside the common room.  The Fat Lady was very kindly pretending to take a nap.

            “It’s okay” assured Harry, “it was going good up until the end.”

            “It was supposed to go on longer.” Cedric pointed out glumly.

            Harry didn’t like seeing Cedric so down.  Feeling a burst of daring, Harry lunged forward and pressed his mouth against Cedric’s.  He had only done this once with George, but he was at least able to get the angle of his head right.  The older boy was tensed for a moment before gently returning the kiss.  It was chaste and sweet, ending after a few seconds and ending with both boys smiling at each other rather dopily.

            “That was fun,” Harry said, for lack of anything better.

            Cedric nodded, then something seemed to occur to him and he was looking at Harry suspiciously. “You’ve done that before,” he said in an accusatory tone.

            “Well,” Harry stammered, “George and I might’ve…”

            Anything else he might have said was cut off as Cedric gripped him in a searing kiss.  He man-handled Harry until he was pressed against the wall of the corridor,  Cedric’s hand cradling the back of his head to separate it from the hard stone wall.  His other hand was pressed against the middle of Harry’s chest, holding him down against the wall.  Unlike their previous kiss, this one was neither chaste nor sweet.  Cedric nipped Harry’s bottom lip then ran his tongue over it to soothe.  Before the tongue could dip any further into Harry’s mouth there was the clearing of a throat behind them.

            They pull apart quickly and look over to see Ron looking at them, face bright red and not quite daring to look at them.

            “I think I’d better go,” said Cedric, looking embarrassed but rather pleased with himself.

            “Ron,” he greeted as he walked by him.

            Ron merely nodded in acknowledgment, not quite looking at Cedric.  When the Hufflepuff was out of sight, he finally looked directly at Harry, if a little bit hesitantly.

            “I guess Cedric actually is quite a bit like Lavender,” Ron commented, taking in Harry’s disheveled appearance.

            “Speaking of whom, where is she?” Harry asked out of idle curiosity.  Harry was greatly relieved that Lavender had not been present to witness what had transpired.

            “She had to meet Parvati.” Ron said.  There was a clear note of relief in his voice, as if he was not at all disappointed by this.

            “Hope you enjoyed yourself.”

            “We went to Madam Puddifoot’s,” Ron said in answer, screwing his face up a little as he said it.

            Harry nodded in understanding.  He had never actually been to Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, but had heard stories about it from Mum and the look on Dad’s face had not given him any desire to go himself.

            “Banana fritters,” he said to the Fat Lady.

            “Quite right,” said the portrait, not even the least bit sleepy and with a noticeable redness in her cheeks.


	14. Every Thing Will Be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I gave the chapters titles!

            Monday morning Harry woke up in a happy mood.  He had spent most of the day in the library with Cedric, doing homework.  Harry had been a tiny bit disappointed to learn that when Cedric asked if he wanted to “do homework” he had genuinely meant doing homework.  Still, at the very least it was convenient having an older student help him.  Even if he wasn’t quite as smart as Hermione, he was more generous with his help.  Hermione and Ron eventually joined them, Ron having shaken Lavender and both of them putting aside their differences for the time being.  Susanna and Carina eventually showed up, and Ron was polite to them if still a little edgy.

            Harry’s good mood evaporated into confusion and a hint of worry when he saw what was waiting for them at the Gryffindor table.  Cedric was sitting there, managing to look simultaneously nervous and furious at the same time.  He was glaring into space as if it had said something rude about his mother and was chewing on his lip in a way that had Harry worried he would break the skin.  His leg was jiggling as if he wanted to pace but didn’t want to cause a scene.  He wasn’t doing too good a job, as several Gryffindor’s sitting near him kept shooting glances at him, as if afraid he might lash out.  Of course, they also could have been looking at his company.  Susanna and Carina looked a lot calmer than Cedric and were talking lowly with Ginny.  The three of them were looking at a magazine, Carina and Ginny with rapt interest and Susanna looking like she was having a hard time holding back a laugh.  When Cedric spotted them, he started to get up as if he wanted to run to Harry but Susanna put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

            “Is something wrong?” Harry asked hesitantly.

            “I’m so sorry Harry!” said Cedric, while Susanna – who was still holding back a laugh – wordlessly handed the magazine, _Witch Weekly_ , over to Harry.  Harry, somewhat afraid, looked at the magazine where his eye was immediately caught by a headline.

TRIWIZARD CHAMPION CEDRIC DIGGORY GIVES YOUNG GAY WIZARDS A NEW ROLE MODEL

            “I thought you said you were okay being out…?”

            “Read it,” prompted Ginny.

            Harry looked sat down beside Cedric, who still looked apologetic.  Ron and Hermione read over his shoulder.  Harry immediately realized what was wrong when he was midway through the article.

            _The Hogwarts champion appeared in Hogsmeade this weekend, accompanied by a younger schoolmate.  The two seemed to be very happy together, even if one might wonder if the clear age difference between them could be considered a bit egregious.  His drinking partner, a dark haired, bi-spectacled boy below O.W.L. age.  Sources have yet to identify this boy…_

            “Oh,” Harry said.  Susanna was unable to hold back anymore and broke out into full laughter, with Carina following.

            “it’s not funny!” Hermione scolded her.

            “Yes it is!” Susanna said around her laughter. “She’s making Cedric out to be a cradle robber!  You and Viktor are just as far apart.  Besides, she didn’t even mention Harry by name,”

            “But that was a pretty good description of him, and most people know that we’re dating!” Cedric argued.

            “Maybe,” Susanna said, starting to calm down, “But they won’t say anything. I have the Slytherins under control; you have the Hufflepuffs – “

            “And we have the Gryffindors” said Fred, who was sitting with George across the table.

            George offered his agreement, “They won’t dare cross us.  And besides, if you’re a cradle robber that makes me one too.  We’ve both made – gone out” George corrected himself “ – with Harry, and we’re in the same year.”

            Cedric, instead of looking relieved, was looking at George rather crossly at his slip up.  He knew that George and Harry had kissed and that knowledge irked him quite a bit.

            “Yeah, and the Ravenclaws aren’t the type to buy into this or bully someone over it,” Ginny offered comfortingly.

            Harry nodded, letting their words comfort him like he hoped they were comforting Cedric. “See?” he said, placing his hand over Cedric’s, “It’ll be okay.”

            “Yeah,” Cedric said, grasping Harry’s hand and already looking less anxious, “It’ll be okay.”

~0oo0~

            “McGonagall’s looking for you Harry,” said George, “and you, Hermione.”

            “Why?” asked Hermione.  Harry looked up from his game of chess he’d been playing with Ron with Hermione and Ginny spectating.

            “Dunno… she was looking a bit grim though,” said Fred.

            “We’re supposed to take you down to her office,” said George.

            Harry and Hermione looked at each other, both wondering what Professor McGonagall could want them for.  Neither of them had done anything particularly against the rules.  Harry wondered for a second if it could have anything to do with the article.  He brushed the thought aside immediately; the article has been out for a month, and it wouldn’t explain why Hermione was being called.  They both got up to followed Fred and George out of the common room.

            They moved through the corridors, Harry chatting with Fred and George as they walked.  Hermione was quiet though, no doubt worrying why she would be called to Professor McGonagall’s office.  When they came upon the office, Professor McGonagall was waiting outside the door for them.  True to Fred and George’s word, she did look grim.

            “That’ll be all, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley,” said McGonagall in a clear dismissal.  Fred and George bid Harry and Hermione goodbye, mouthing “good luck” as them as they left.

            McGonagall made sure the twins were out of sight before gesturing to Harry and Hermione. “Come on in,” she said.

            Still confused, Harry and Hermione entered the office.  When they entered the office, their confusion only grew.

            Sitting in the room was none other than Professor Dumbledore.  He was speaking calmly to a very young girl of eight or nine with silver blonde hair.  Harry tried to listen in on what they were saying, but realized they were speaking in French.  The girl looked rather scared, wringing her hands together and speaking fast.

            Dumbledore looked up when Harry and Hermione entered and gave them a comforting smile.  He looked down at the girl and said something to her, at which she nodded and began to stare at her hands.  Dumbledore gestured for the two students to sit in the chairs beside where the girl was sitting.  When they sat down, the girl looked up at him Harry gave the nervous girl a small smile, which she returned shyly.

            “Hello Mr. Potter, Miss Granger.  I trust you are doing well?” said Dumbledore congenially.

            “Yes, Professor,” said both Harry and Hermione.

            “I bet you are also wondering why you are here?”

            Neither of them answered verbally, rather they waited for him to continue.

            “Well, as I’m sure you know, the second task of the Triwizard Tournament takes place tomorrow,” he said.  “What you may not know, is the exact contents of the challenge.”

            They both nodded.  Harry had never asked Cedric about the next task or the clue in the egg, guessing that Cedric was probably asked enough by everyone else. To his knowledge, Hermione had never asked Krum either.

            “Well, the objective of the task will be to save something you will sorely miss,” began Dumbledore, “and in this particular case, that will be you two and Miss Gabrielle.” He gestured to the three of them.  The little girl, whom Harry was guessing to be Fleur’s sister, was again looking at her hands.  Harry guessed Dumbledore must have already explained this to her in her native tongue.

            “So the champions have to save us?” asked Harry, worry starting to creep in, “from what?”

            “From the lake,” said Dumbledore simply.

            “The lake!?” repeated Hermione, her voice shrill.

            Dumbledore held his hand up in a placating gesture, “I promise that you will be quite safe.  Precautions have been taken to make sure that you will be safe and unharmed.  What will happen is, you will be placed into an enchanted sleep and placed under the water in the village of the merpeople.  Your designated champion will then be given the task of rescuing you within an hour.  You will awake once you are above the water.” He raised his pulled his wand out and pointed it at the three of them.

            “What if our champions don’t save us?” asked Harry.

            “Precautions have been taken to make sure that you will be safe and unharmed,” Dumbledore repeated.  He began waving his wand in slow circles in front of them.  Harry’s worries started to fall away.  His eyelids felt heavy and for a minute he struggled to hold them open until he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	15. My Hero

            Harry was floating.

            Or, at least, that’s what it seemed like.  Dumbledore had told them that they would be submerged in the lake, hadn’t he?  Harry found it hard to feel the worry he had first felt when being told this.  He wasn’t finding it hard to breath, nor did he even really feel the need to breath.  It was as if he was in a stasis.  He felt comfortable, despite how freezing the lake water must be.  He also felt the warmth of knowing that everything was alright.  Whether this was part of the spell Dumbledore cast on them or if Harry had truly let go of his worry was uncertain.  It would be better if the hostages were unable to sufficiently panic, after all.

            His sluggish thoughts turned to Cedric.  For sure, Cedric would be the one tasked with “rescuing” him.  Unless, of course, Fleur or Krum had taken an unusually quick liking to him during their very limited interactions.  He briefly wondered what would happen if one of the champions failed to save their hostage.  Harry wasn’t able to worry over this, unable to feel anything than the smothering comfort.  They wouldn’t truly risk the lives of two fourth year students and a young girl just for a task.  More likely the champion would just be left without any points and end up last place in the competition while the hostage would be fished out.

            The comfort he felt was suddenly replaced with freezing water and a desperate need for air.  Harry gasped, relieved to find his head was above water.  With Dumbledore’s spell broken, Harry could feel the full effects of the cold water.  Under the shock of the cold, he processed a strong arm wrapped around him, pulling him into shallower water.  He turned his head to the side and got a blurry image of a waterlogged Cedric.  There were people in the stands beside the lake making a lot of noise.  He looked around himself but everything seemed rather blurry.  Belatedly, he realized that he was not wearing his glasses.  He groaned internally – they must have been dropped in the lake!  They reached the shore and were immediately accosted by whom Harry recognized by her voice as Madam Pomfrey.

            “Come here, you two,” she said, seizing them and pulling them away from the water.  She wrapped them both up in thick blankets that felt like straitjackets and gave them a very hot potion that made steam come out of their ears.

            “Here,” Madam Pomfrey said, waving something else in his face.  Harry was very relieved to find that it was his glasses.  He gratefully grabbed them and put them on his face, relieved to finally be able to see.

            “We didn’t want them getting lost in the lake,” Madam Pomfrey explained primly.

            Sight regained, Harry looked over to see Cedric smiling at him.  Harry felt the strong urge to kiss his boyfriend.  Cedric seemed to have the same idea, because he started to lean in towards Harry but they were suddenly accosted by a very distressed Fleur.

            “Did you see my sister?  Is she alive?  Is she ‘urt?”

            Cedric looked taken aback and slightly annoyed.  He also seemed embarrassed, aware that he and Harry had been about to share a very public display of affection.

            “She was in the village,” he said, “with the merpeople.”

            This made Fleur more distressed, “She is down zere all alone!  It was ze grindylows… zey attacked me… oh Gabrielle…”

            Harry noticed that Fleur did, in fact, look quite battered.  She had many cuts on her face and arms and her bathing suit was torn, although she did not seem to care.

            “She’ll be okay,” Harry assured her, “Dumbledore wouldn’t allow her to get hurt.”

            Fleur did not look mollified in the least.  In fact, she turned on Cedric, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen her.

            “And you just _left her zere_?” she hissed, “Down in ze lake with the merpeople and ze _grindylows_?”

            Cedric gaped, “She’s not my hostage!” he said indignantly.  Harry did think she was being quite unfair – Gabrielle was her hostage to save, not Cedric’s.  It wasn’t his fault that Fleur had been unable to reach her.  Although, maybe Cedric could have been more tactful.  Just then, Madame Maxime appeared, putting a firm hand on Fleur’s shoulder.

            “Zat is enough,” said Madame Maxime firmly, “Gabrielle waz not his responsibility, and she will be retrieved as soon as the others ‘ave returned.  Now, you need to get zose cuts looked at.” She lead the still-angry Fleur away towards Madam Pomfrey, who tried to examine her injuries.

            His worrying over Fleur was broken when he felt something bump his shoulder.  He looked over and was met witj the gaze of a narrow-eyed Cedric.

            “I save you from the lake and I still can’t hold your attention while she’s around?” he said in an accusatory tone, although Harry noticed his eyes were sparkle teasingly.

            “As if you thought they’d actually just leave us there to die,” Harry retorted.

            Cedric’s face suddenly became more serious. “No,” he said, “but I still worried.”

            He moved even closer until he and Harry were pressed even tighter together.  Harry looked around, realizing that not only were the stands filled with the entire school population, they were also seated nearby the judges’ table.  Madame Maxime was too busy trying to calm Fleur to pay them any mind; Karkaroff was looking away with a distasteful look on his face; Crouch was talking to Professor Dumbledore, also not paying them any mind; Ludo Bagman was positively beaming.  Harry wondered briefly why until he realized –

            “We’re the first ones back!” Harry said excitedly, startling Cedric slightly.  He looked around, noticing that Krum had yet to arrive, and seeing as Fleur had been unable to complete the challenge.../p>

            “I guess we are!” Cedric laughed.

            Suddenly, and with a pang of guilt, Harry remembered Hermione.  Objectively, he knew no harm would be allowed to come to Hermione.  It didn’t prevent him from worrying though.

            He didn’t have to worry long, though.  Soon, a pair of heads broke the surface.  One, despite the bushy hair being wetted down, was clearly Hermione.  The other one must have been Krum, but he seemed disfigured somehow, as if caught between human and something else.

            “He tried to transfigure himself into a shark,” said Cedric in explanation, “he didn’t do it completely though.  Only got his head.”

            The two swam their way out of the lake.  Madam Pomfrey immediately caught Krum, but Hermione evaded her and ran as fast as her sodden robes would allow her towards Harry.  She threw herself onto Harry and wrapped him up in a hug.

            “Oh, Harry!” she cried, “I’m so glad you made it out alright!”

            Cedric was grumbling again, but there was no real heat behind it.  Krum was looking rather surly, not happy that Hermione’s attention had been taken away so quickly.  Hermione was snagged by Madam Pomfrey who quickly wrapped her in a blanket and gave her a measure of potion.  Fleur was now demanding that they go and fetch Gabrielle out of the lake.  She didn’t have to worry, as Gabrielle was being carried toward the shore by the merpeople, twenty of whom had just emerged.

            Madame Maxime was barely able to hold back Fleur, who was fighting tooth and nail to reach her sister.  Once Madam Pomfrey had Gabrielle wrapped in a blanket, Fleur broke free and gathered her up in her arms.

            “Wait,” said Hermione, “you two were the first ones back?”

            “Yeah,” said Cedric, looking rather proud.

            “Congratulations!” she said happily, and Krum’s scowl went even deeper.  He once again tried to lure her into conversation.

            When he succeeded, Cedric took the chance to capture Harry’s attention.  Freeing his arm, he pulled Harry in and kissed his hair.

            “What was that for?” Harry asked.

            “Just happy,” said Cedric.

            They were interrupted, to Cedric’s frustration, by Fleur, who was walking hand in hand with Gabrielle.

            “Zank you for being so understanding,” Fleur said, “and for comforting Gabrielle before the task.”

            “I didn’t really do all that much,” Harry said.  He’d only smiled at Gabrielle, after all.  The little girl was pressed against her sister’s side, blushing and not really looking him in the eye.

            Fleur gave him a kind smile, then leaned in and kissed Harry on both his cheeks.  Harry felt heat rise into his face as Fleur walked away, Gabrielle waving shyly back at him over her shoulder.  Harry waved back but then had an arm promptly thrown around him, pinning his arm against his side.

            “I wonder if there’s some spell that repels veela,” Cedric muttered.

            “Fleur was only being friendly,” Harry protested, “and Gabrielle is what? Eight or nine years old?”

            “In a few years she’ll look just like her sister,” Cedric pointed out.

            “I never took you for the jealous type,” said Harry.

            “She flirts like it’s a sport!” said Cedric crossly.

            “She may be beautiful, but I’m dating you,” said Harry. “Besides, she’s only doing it to get a rise out of you for her own amusement.”

            “You’re right,” grumbled Cedric.  “I wouldn’t ask this normally,” he said, leaning in and lowering his voice to a whisper, “but do you think we could meet tonight?  We haven’t had more than a minute alone, and after all this I’d really like to spend some time with you.”

            “Yeah, alright,” said Harry, swallowing, “Where?”

            “The prefect’s bathroom.  Few people go in there so we’re less likely to be disturbed.”

            “That sounds great,” said Harry, who was beginning to feel itchy at the idea of being alone with Cedric… at night… in a bathroom.

            “Good – that’s good,” stammered Cedric. “Meet me after curfew at the statue of Boris the Bewildered.  I think you’ll like what you see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to update sooner but lightning knocked out my internet. I still wrote two chapters and will probably have a third later!


	16. I Promise

            As planned, Harry snuck out through the portrait hole as soon as he could after curfew.  Ron waited outside to say the password to let him out.  Harry had tried to sneak away as soon as he could, not wanting to be too late.  He and Hermione had been bombarded with questions by the fellow Gryffindors, which they answered to the best of their ability despite having been unconscious for a large part of it.

            He moved along the corridors quietly, careful not to catch attention.  He hoped Cedric had made it to their meeting place okay.  He didn’t have an invisibility cloak like Harry did, so would have to be more careful.  Harry was relieved when he finally reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered and saw Cedric standing there, trying his best to look casual but clearly alert.  Feeling sly, Harry snuck up to him and moved until he was standing directly in front of Cedric.

            “Boo,” he said.  The reaction was instant and gratifying.  With a yelp, Cedric hopped backwards until he was flat against the wall.  He looked around wildly for a second before realization dawned on his face.

            “Not funny, Harry!” he hissed.

            “It was a little funny,” Harry chuckled, moving the cloak so that Cedric could see his face.

            Cedric only scowled at him.

            “I’m sorry,” Harry amended, still smiling, “now you said something about a bathroom?”

            Cedric scowled at him for a moment longer.  Then he turned towards a door that Harry had noticed moments ago.

            “Pine fresh,” he said, followed by the door creaking open.  He slipped through and, with a sly smile on his face, beckoned Harry inside.

            As he entered the bathroom, Harry privately thought that it would be worth becoming a prefect just to be able to use this bathroom.  Everything was made of white marble and softly lit by a candle-filled chandelier.  What looked like an empty, rectangular swimming pool was sunk into the middle of the floor.  About a hundred golden taps stood around the pool’s edges, each one with a differently covered jewel set into its handle.  There was even a diving board.  White linen curtains hung on the windows and a single gold-framed painting containing a – currently sleeping – mermaid hung on the wall.  A pile of fluffy white towels sat in the corner.

            As Cedric closed and bolted the door behind him, Harry felt a lurch in his stomach that he hadn’t felt in a long while return with a vengeance.  While Harry was definitely attracted to Cedric, the idea that he might be planning for them to have sex tonight scared Harry half to death.  Thinking about Cedric in bed was a good way to spend his time alone, but Harry didn’t think that he was ready for the real thing.  Harry’s biggest issue, however, was that he had no idea how to say no if Cedric propositioned him.  He didn’t even know if he could say no.  He had comforted himself with the thought that Cedric didn’t seem like the type of guy that would want to have their first time in a bathroom.  Looking around him, though, Harry thought that the this bathroom may just be the most romantic place in the whole castle.

            In an attempt to distract himself, Harry took off the invisibility cloak and folded it neatly and place it on the floor.  He heard Cedric approach him and glanced over, face even with Cedric's stomach.  Harry stood up quickly and began trying to come up with something to break the ice but the second he was upright Cedric’s arms were wrapped around him.  Harry looked up in surprise and Cedric took the chance to slant their mouths together.  Sooner than Harry would have expected, Cedric’s tongue started moving along his lips, seeking entrance.  Harry’s fear of his own willpower was proven founded when, immediately and without thinking, he granted entry.

            Somehow they ended up on the floor, Harry using the folded invisibility cloak to cushion his head.  Cedric hovered above him, but the only point of contact between them was their lips.  Cedric did not bear any of his weight down onto Harry, for which he was grateful – Cedric was quite a bit larger than he was.  His hands also did not move to touch Harry other than to remove his glasses and place them gently out of the way.  His hands remained firmly on either side of Harry’s shoulders, boxing him in and supporting Cedric’s weight.  Gradually, Harry began to relax.  Cedric did not make to remove any of Harry’s clothing or otherwise indicate wanting anything more than to snog.  At least he didn’t for the first five minutes.

            “Would you fancy a swim?” Cedric asked, finally putting a few inches between their faces.

            “I didn’t bring any swim trunks.” Harry squeaked.

            “We don’t need them,” said Cedric.

            Harry tensed, and Cedric’s smile disappeared and he frowned down at Harry.

            “Is something wrong?”

            “No, it’s okay – I’m good,” stammered Harry.

            Realization dawned on Cedric’s face and he was suddenly off of Harry.  He landed on the floor a few feet away from Harry, horror and guilt warring on his face.

            “You thought I was suggesting…” he thought for a second, then a look of anger appeared on his face and he was smacking himself on the head in a decent imitation of Dobby.

            “Stupid! Stupid!”

            Harry, confused, wasn’t sure what to say.  “It’s okay,” he tried, “it’s not your fault that I’m not ready,” he said, his voice comforting and apologetic.

            Cedric paused in scolding himself to give Harry a confused look.  “Not my fault?” he parroted back, “Harry, I knew very well that you probably weren’t ready.  It wasn’t my goal to proposition you!”

            “It wasn’t?”

            “Harry, if I really cared about sex I wouldn’t be dating someone almost three years younger than me!”

            “So you don’t want to have sex with me?” Harry asked, a slight sinking feeling in his stomach.

            “I do,” said Cedric, eyes intense on Harry, “you have no idea how badly I do.  I want you so badly it actually hurts sometimes – but I’m willing to wait,” the intensity lessened and his eyes turned gentle.  “When we have sex, whether it be six months or a year from now, I want you to enjoy it.  I don’t want you to do it because you think you need to.”

            “Thank you,” Harry said, not knowing how else to respond.

            “Thank _you_ ,” Cedric said, moving closer and putting his hand over Harry’s.

            “So,” said Harry, wanting to break the heavy moment, “how were you suggesting we swim?”

            “I was going to suggest swimming in our underwear,” said Cedric, sounding rather sheepish.

            “Okay,” said Harry, suddenly feeling brave.  He got up off the ground and began pulling his clothes off.  He was so caught up in taking them off that he didn’t noticed Cedric hadn’t moved until he was fully undressed.

            Cedric seemed to have entered some kind of trance.  His pupils were dilated and his mouth was slightly open.

            “Um, aren’t you going to undress?” Harry asked, now feeling self-conscious.  It was an odd feeling for him, to be standing there almost naked while his fully clothed boyfriend ogled him like a piece of meat.  It was embarrassing yet also pleasing.

            “Oh! Yeah!” said Cedric, jumping up and beginning to remove his own clothes. As each article was removed, Harry was treated to more of Cedric than he had seen.  Due to it being winter, Cedric was on the paler side, but his muscles were toned.

            “Come on, wait until you see what all the taps do,” Cedric said, turning and leaning Harry towards the pool.  Harry tried to keep his eyes above Cedric’s waistline but was failing miserably.  It seemed to him as if Cedric was swinging his hips more than was strictly necessary.  His suspicions were proven true when Cedric turned around and Harry looked up and saw how pleased with himself Cedric looked.

~0oo0~

            Harry went down to breakfast Monday morning feeling as if he was floating on air.  After their night together on Friday, they had spent good portions of Saturday and Sunday together.  Ron had questioned Harry as subtly as he possibly could and Hermione managed to look both reproachful and curious at the same time.  He could tell that they didn’t really want to know what he and Cedric did that night as much as they wanted to know if they had done _it_.  Harry had assured them that they hadn’t, which had made Hermione look slightly relieved.  He had the feeling that Fred and George hadn’t really believed him.

            As he sat down for breakfast he caught Cedric’s eye at the Hufflepuff table.  They smiled at each other.  He heard a snort from his left as Ron caught on to what he was doing.  He broke off the gaze to give his friend a reproachful look.  Before he could look back at Cedric, the post owls arrived.  He was unsurprised to receive an owl from his parents, guessing that they must have read about the challenge in the Sunday edition of the _Daily Prophet_.

            _Hello, Son_

_We are happy to see you are doing well after your little trip into the lake.  You can imagine how excited we were to read about it in the Prophet two days after the fact along with everyone else.  Also, we are going to take a wild guess and say that you were the “younger student” seen with Cedric Diggory in Hogsmeade._

_We will be having a talk about keeping your parents in the loop when you come home for Easter.  Also, you can tell Cedric that we would love to meet him, preferably sooner rather than later.  For example, if he would like to join us for dinner one day during the Easter holidays, that would be lovely._

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

            “It really wouldn’t have killed you to let them know,” pointed out Hermione mildly.

            Harry was about to retort when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.  He started, then looked up and saw it was Cedric.  He began to smile and was preparing to greet him when he noticed the look on the older boy’s face.  He was deathly pale and his eyes were wide.  He also seemed to be breathing rather harshly, as if he was having a hard time holding himself together.

            “Is something wrong, Cedric?” Harry asked worriedly.

            “Yes” Cedric said, voice tight, “can you please come with me?”

            Immediately getting up and taking just enough time to cast a look at the confused and worried faces of his friends, Harry allowed Cedric to lead him out.  The boy was speed walking, just short of running, and Harry had to almost run to keep up with his long strides.  They exited the Great Hall and ran along the corridors until they found an empty classroom and hid inside.  Cedric slumped down onto the floor, still breathing harshly, and buried his face in his hands.  It was then that Harry noticed that Cedric had a note crumpled in one of his fists.

            “What is that, Cedric?” Harry asked, going down to the floor besides Cedric.

            As if he had just been reminded of it, Cedric threw the paper away from himself.  Before Harry could reach for it, Cedric drew his wand and pointed it at the parchment.

            _“Incendio!”_ he snarled, and the paper immediately burst into flames.

            Harry stared at the pile of smoldering ash, wondering what about it had made Cedric so upset. “What is it, Cedric?” Harry asked, afraid of the answer but needing to know.”

            “It – it was my dad,” Cedric said with immense difficulty, “he said he didn’t raise me to be – to be a – “

            A sense of dread filled Harry.  It was probably the very worst thing that could of happened.  Harry felt a sense of building fury, wishing Amos Diggory were there so that Harry could hit him with the nastiest curse he knew.

            “He – he said that this wasn’t what he – he wanted for me,” Cedric stuttered, “he said no son of his was going to be a – a – “

            “It’s okay,” Harry said, not really meaning it.  Of course it wasn’t okay, but what else was Harry supposed to say?

            “Can you do something for me Harry?” Cedric asked, not looking at him.  Tears had started trailing slowly down his face as he looked at nothing.

            “Anything,” Harry said immediately.

            Cedric reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand, holding it in a vice grip as if Harry was a balloon and Cedric was afraid he was going to float away.

            “Promise that you’ll stay with me.” he said, looking at Harry, desperation in his eyes.

            “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.


	17. Comfort

            “Are you sure you’ll be okay, Cedric?” Harry asked.

            Cedric gave him a tired but hopeful smile.  He had recovered from his breakdown with some rest and a Calming Draught from Madam Pomfrey.  Afterwards, he had received a letter from his mother, asking him to come home for the Easter holidays.  She was of the mind that, with a little work, Mr. Diggory could be brought to see the error of his ways.  Harry wasn’t very optimistic, but didn’t tell Cedric that.  In the back of his mind, Harry was cautiously hopeful that Cedric and his father could repair their relationship.  The letter from his father had caused Cedric no small amount of emotional turmoil.  He had become nervous and stressed, often biting his lip and staring forlornly into space.  The letter from his mother had assured Cedric that both his parents hadn’t abandoned him, and had put a little hope back in him.  Even if Harry had never been a fan of Amos Diggory, he could understand the bond between a father and son and couldn’t blame Cedric for wanting his approval.

            “I think so,” Cedric said, “Mum’s really optimistic that we can get him to see that this isn’t a bad thing.”

            “I’m sure it will be fine, Cedric,” said Susanna as she brushed past them, though by the look in her eyes Harry could tell she was saying it for Cedric’s sake.  Harry could understand where she was coming from – she had, after all, been disowned for the crime of simply being tolerant.  Although Harry suspected Amos Diggory couldn’t be near as bad as the Malfoys, he could still understand her pessimism.

            They moved along the platform together, looking for their respective families and unwilling to part until absolutely necessary.  Hermione and the Weasleys walked with them out of habit.  It was likely that their families would be where Harry’s were.

            “That can’t be good,” Ron said.

            Harry was inclined to agree.  They had found Harry’s parents who were, as expected, standing with Molly and Mr. and Mrs. Granger.  Whom Harry hadn’t expected to see was a woman that Harry had never had never seen before but by Ron’s comment and Cedric’s face he was guessing to be none other than Mrs. Diggory. 

            “Well, at least you’ll be both be getting the ‘meet the parents’ part out of the way,” said Ginny, a bit of a grimace on her face.  Ron and the twins sniggered and Hermione gave them an encouraging smile.

            The families noticed their children and turned to face them.  While the Weasleys and the Grangers greeted each other, Harry and Cedric stood together in front of their parents, waiting for them to speak.  Harry was relieved to see that his dad appeared to be deeply amused by the situation.  His mum was looking at Cedric with a kind smile which told Harry that she knew something of the Diggory family’s crisis.  When Harry was finally brave enough to meet the gaze of Mrs. Diggory, she was giving him an appraising, but friendly, look.

            “Well you must be the Cedric we’ve heard so much about,” said James, “from the papers, that is.”

            “Same to you, Harry,” said Mrs. Diggory, “or should I call you ‘his drinking partner’ or ‘a dark-haired, bi-spectacled boy’?”

            Cedric and Harry both blushed guiltily.  Not telling their parents about their romance was one thing, it was another to let them find out from the papers.

            “It’s okay,” Lily said kindly, but with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “I’m sure we can get to know each other in person over dinner.”

            “Dinner?” said Cedric questioningly, looking slightly nervous.

            “Yes, dinner,” said Mrs. Diggory, “Lily and James were nice enough to invite us over for dinner Wednesday!  Isn’t that great?”

            “That sounds wonderful,” said Cedric, standing up straight and putting on his most polite, charming self, “I’d be honored to join your family for dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Potter.”

            Lily beamed at him while James managed to disguise his laugh as a cough.

            “That’s my charming boy,” said Mrs. Diggory fondly, “now, say goodbye to Harry so we can get home – get this show over with,” she muttered the last part under her breath.  James’ face lost some of its humor and Lily touched her arm sympathetically.

            Wincing slightly at his mother’s words, Cedric turned to face Harry.  They were both a little uncomfortable at the idea of having a heartfelt goodbye in front of their parents.

            “I guess I’ll see you Wednesday…” he said.

            “Yeah,” said Harry, feeling equally awkward.

            Cedric glanced over at their parents, who were feigning not paying attention.  He looked at Harry and, a look of resolve on his face, dived in and pressed a brief peck onto his lips.  He swiftly pulled away before Harry could process it then was hurrying away, with Harry only able to stare after him and make out his dark red ears.  With a laugh and a brief goodbye Mrs. Diggory set off after her son.

            Harry stared after them for a second before becoming aware of his surroundings.  Lily was positively beaming; James had the decency to pretend to check his watch; Harry didn’t dare look at the Weasleys, who he could hear sniggering.  Playing it relatively safe, he looked at Hermione but even she was struggling not to laugh.  Harry decided then and there that he needed new friends.

            “Are we ready to go yet?” James said, the good father that he was.

            “I guess so,” agreed Lily, deciding to take mercy on her son.

~0oo0~

            That night, instead of sleeping he was reading his copy of _A Guide to the History and Practical Learning for Homosexual Witches and Wizards_ by the light of the lamp on his bedside table.  It was a relief to be able to sit and read the book without worry of someone peaking over his shoulder if he didn’t want to.  He supposed there was Dobby, but the elf tended to respect Harry’s privacy – with the exception of waking him up in the morning.  It was midnight currently, Harry enjoying not having roommates to worry about waking up.

            Harry was engrossed in a page about famous gay wizarding athletes when he felt a sharp poke to his head.  Starting a little (a lot), he looked around the room in search of what had hit him.  He wondered for a second if Dobby was pulling a prank, but the elf wasn’t the type.  Looking down at the bed, he noticed a parchment folded into a paper airplane.  Harry wondered where it could have come from, then immediately remembered that his window was open.  He  thought of the Ministry’s method of sending the memos through magic.  Harry grabbed the paper and opened it, immediately recognizing Cedric’s messier-than-usual handwriting and was slinging his legs out of bed before he even registered what the note said.

            _Talking with dad didn’t go well.  Please let me in._

            Harry moved quickly out of his bed and down the hall of the cottage until he reached the front door.  He opened it and immediately saw the silhouette of his boyfriend standing slumped at the edge of the property, holding a rucksack.  Harry supposed he must have apparated there.  Weary of the neighbors, Harry looked rapidly around and then went outside far enough so Cedric could see him.  He beckoned Cedric, who immediately began moving quickly towards the door.  Harry was still unable to make out most of Cedric’s face but he figured it couldn’t be good.  He led Cedric towards his room, moving quietly so as to not wake James or Lily.  Once the door of his room closed behind him, Harry looked at his boyfriend in the light of the bedside lamp.

            It was about as bad as he could have imagined.  He was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, and a light jacket.  Harry felt his own stomach drop at the look of his face.  His eyes were red and he looked so defeated it made Harry’s stomach drop.

            “I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Cedric said, voice thick.

            “That’s okay,” Harry said.  Cedric looked like he’d done quite enough talking.

            “Mum told me to come here.  Said your folks said it would be alright if things went – went badly.”

            Harry nodded.  That sounded like something his parents would do.

            “Not sure if they meant we could sleep together though,” Cedric said, looking at Harry’s bed.

            Harry though for a second that Cedric was making a crude joke.  He wondered briefly about how Cedric could still be able to joke before realizing that he meant it literally.  Harry was inclined to agree that this probably what his parents had in mind, but –

            “You’re not sleeping on the couch, it’s too late to get you settled in the guest room, and I don’t think you should be alone tonight.” Harry said the last reason in a lower voice.

            Cedric didn’t argue; he was probably too emotionally exhausted.  Harry climbed into bed and moved so there was enough space for the other boy.  He held up the covers in invitation, and Cedric proceeded to shrug robotically out of his jacket and pull off his shoes and socks.  Harry took a moment to feel embarrassed when Cedric pulled off his jeans, revealing black briefs.  Harry wasn’t sure why he felt embarrassed – he had seen Cedric half-naked and wet before; he was even wearing a shirt now.  He guessed it was slightly different, considering the last time had been a for a swim and this time would be them in a bed not really big enough for two people.

            He crawled into the bed with Harry, placing himself low enough that he could tuck his head under Harry’s chin.  Harry though this was an awkward position considering their height difference (Cedric’s feet were almost hanging off the bed), but Harry supposed it was comforting to him, and Cedric looked like he needed a lot of comfort about now.

            “Thank you,” Cedric said to Harry’s collarbone.

            Harry didn’t answer, reaching over Cedric to turn off the lamp before putting his arms around his boyfriend.  The night was only disturbed by Cedric’s hitching breath and shaking shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry for the bummer.


	18. Morning

            Harry woke up in increments.  First thing he noticed was the grounded feeling of reality that one did not realize was missing in dreams until they woke up and it was there again.  The second thing was the light of morning that he could make out through his eyelids.  Third, he noticed that he was more comfortably warm.  In April, it was still cool enough that Harry would normally have to bundle up quite tightly in his blankets to remain comfortably warm.  In this case, by the cold patches of skin Harry could tell that his blankets were only pulled up to his middle.  It was about this moment that Harry noticed that the reason he was so warm was because there was another body in bed with him.

            He opened his eyes, but didn’t move.  Immediately in front of him he saw an unkempt mop of brown hair.  This sight brought back the memories of last night, and Harry felt his stomach drop.  He and Cedric were in basically the same position which they had fallen asleep in.  Their arms were loosely wrapped around each other, just above the blankets.  Their legs were also tangled together.

            Harry pulled back, trying to untangle himself without waking Cedric.  He pulled back just enough to see Cedric’s face.  Harry had never actually seen Cedric asleep before, but thought he wouldn’t mind seeing it again.  The look of pure peaceful innocence was almost hypnotizing.  Unfortunately, the peace was marred by the redness around his eyes and this still-visible tear tracks.  Harry had the urge to wrap his arms back around Cedric and hold him for as long as he could.  His bladder protested the thought though, and Harry was forced to slowly and carefully extricate himself from the embrace.

            After finishing his business in the bathroom and making a quick check to make sure Cedric was still asleep, Harry moved downstairs.  He realized that Lily must not have asked Dobby to come and wake Harry.  This could be Lily letting Harry sleep in on his break, but Harry seriously doubted it.  His doubts were proven correct when he entered the kitchen to find the kitchen and the dishes clean, with the exception of a plate for him.  His parents sat down at the table, waiting for him to sit down.  Harry read the mood on their faces and was relieved to see that, while not exactly happy, they did not appear to be angry either.  Slowly, he sat down in front of them, but decided to forego his breakfast until they spoke.  When they didn’t talk immediately, Harry decided he needed to break the silence himself.

            “Cedric came over last night,” Harry said, addressing the elephant in the room.

            “We heard,” said James, looking awkward.  “So things with his dad didn’t go so well, then?”

            “No… guess not,” said Harry.

            Lily sighed, “Mary was afraid this would happen.”

            “I would have set him up in the guest room, but it was late and – “

            “You didn’t want him to be alone,” said Lily understandingly. “Don’t worry, honey, we’re not accusing you of doing anything… untoward.”

            “We highly doubt that what happened last night could have been much of an aphrodisiac,” said James, eliciting a blush from Harry and a slap on the arm from Lily.

            “James, seriously!” scolded Lily.

            “Sorry, Lily – just trying to lighten the mood,” said James. “But seriously Harry,” said James, for once looking stern, “have you or Cedric ever done anything sexual together?”

            “No!” said Harry.

            “And do you plan on doing anything in the near future?” asked Lily.

            “No,” said Harry, calmer this time, “we’ve agreed that we’re not ready for that yet.”  He decided to leave out the part where it was him, not Cedric, that wasn’t ready for sex.  He didn’t want to give his parents to have the impression that Cedric might try to pressure him.

            “Okay,” said James, sounding immensely relieved, “in that case, Cedric can stay in your room.”

            “What?” exclaimed Harry, surprised.

            “We told you that we’re expecting Sirius over the holiday,” said Lily.  “And we figure that, as long as we can trust you and Cedric to not do anything you shouldn’t be doing, Cedric can stay with you so Sirius can use the guestroom.”

            “Now,” said James, “how about you eat your breakfast, and then you can take some up to Cedric?”

            Glad that the awkward part of the conversation was over, Harry dug into his breakfast.  James and Lily continued to talk to him, the conversation now considerably lighter.  They asked Harry about the rest of his school life; how his classes were, when he planned to finish the homework he had for the break.  Lily mentioned how happy Mrs. Dancer had looked when Lily told her they were expecting Sirius.  When Harry finally finished, he grabbed Cedric’s breakfast, perched on a tray that was only brought out when somebody was bedridden.  When he managed to get up to his room without spilling anything, he was unsurprised to find Cedric still asleep and, rather adorably, gripping a pillow.  Harry set the breakfast off to the side and went over to nudge Cedric awake.

            “Wake up,” Harry said gently.

            Cedric began to stir, and turned over to look at Harry with a peaceful and happy smile on his face.  Then, feeling the presence of reality, the peace melted away and his face became confused.  He looked around, seeming to search for something.  He seemed to find what he was looking for when he found Harry’s left hand, and his face became sad.

            “Guess not,” he muttered.

            “What?”

            “Nothing,” Cedric said, sitting up.  He looked around the room, taking it in.  Harry was glad that he kept his room at least relatively clean, at Lily’s insistence and Dobby’s help.  His eyes went fully around the room before landing on the breakfast tray.

            “It’s for you,” Harry said, “Mum put a charm on it so it’s still warm.

            “That’s nice of her,” Cedric said.  His eyes suddenly widened in realization.

            “They know I was up here?” Cedric said, a bit of fear in his voice.

            “Yeah,” Harry told him, “but it’s okay – they’re okay with it.  In fact, since my godfather is supposed to arrive later, they said you could stay in here with me.  As long as you’re staying”

            “They said that?” Cedric said, sounding dubious.

            “Yeah, well,” Harry said, “I had to promise them that we weren’t having sex – “ Cedric winced at that, Harry thought that at least Cedric hadn’t had to be there for that conversation,   
“ – but yeah, they’re cool with it.”

            “Wow…” said Cedric.

            “Yeah,” said Harry, “so, breakfast?”

            “Yeah, sure,” said Cedric, then he winced and pulled his legs closer together.  “Actually,” Cedric said, also bringing up a hand to feel his face, which wasn’t in the best shape, “do you mind showing me to the bathroom.  I need to piss like a racehorse and my face feels like a wreck.”

            “Yeah, sure,” said Harry, “um, Cedric?”

            “Yeah?”

            “You know… if you ever need to talk…”

            “I know,” said Cedric, giving Harry a tired, fond smile, “you’re here for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing completion! I don't know how many more chapters there will be but I got a vague idea for the ending. I'll be starting college next week, so just know that the updates will likely be farther apart from this point. After this is over, there are some ideas for stories in other fandoms that I would like to explore, but I was also thinking of some ideas for a sequel or a series for this. Only time will tell I guess. Thank you all for reading!


	19. The Visit

                Harry and Cedric sat together on the couch in the Potters’ sitting room.  Both of them were fidgeting, but for different reasons.  Harry was fidgeting from excitement, having not seen his godfather Sirius since his birthday the previous summer.  Cedric was fidgeting because he had heard so much about the Sirius that the idea of actually meeting him was rather intimidating.  James and Lily were taking up the armchairs, pretending to be engrossed in their own tasks (James observing the paper, Lily a thick hardback) while surreptitiously glancing at the two boys and holding down grins of amusement.

            The boys’ discomfort was brought to a climax by the sound of the doorbell.  Harry’s head jerked around while Cedric jumped.  A plate of tea cakes, appearing to float but actually supported by Dobby, came into the room.  James leisurely put his paper away before leaving to get the door.

            They heard James’ voice indistinctly at the door.  The three of them were surprised to hear a female voice respond to James’ greeting.  Harry wondered if Sirius had decided to invite  a surprise female friend.  James entered the room followed by a familiar face.

            “Wotcher, Harry,” said Tonks.

            “Dora!” Lily pulled the startled woman into an embrace. “We hardly ever see you anymore, since you began Auror training!”

            “I qualified this year,” said Tonks proudly.

            “That’s great!” said Harry.

            “Thank you Harry,” said Tonks, somewhat distractedly.  She had just caught sight of Cedric, “Well, if it isn’t the famous Cedric Diggory.”

            Cedric held his straight posture that he took when the doorbell first rang, but his face was now noticeably red.

            “I’m not famous,” said Cedric humbly.

            “Of course you are,” said Tonks, “the first Triwizard Champion in two hundred years!  Although,” her smile became mischievous, “that’s not all I’ve been hearing about,” her eyes turned on Harry, who became as red as his boyfriend.

            “Now Tonks, leave the poor boys alone,” came a smooth voice from behind Tonks. 

            Harry looked at the doorway and there stood Susanna Lestrange, smirking.  Harry found it odd to see her outside of a school setting; she wore a black, form-fitting sweater and gray pants, and her hair was let down instead of its usual updo.  She had come in unnoticed and had watched the scene in amusement.  James was standing with her, and didn’t seem to know what to make of her.

            “Susanna?” Harry exclaimed.

            “Hello, Harry – Cedric,” she said.

            “What are you doing here?” asked Cedric.

            It was Tonks that answered, “I was mentioning to Sirius that it had been a while since I’d seen you lot, and Susanna here mentioned that she had gotten to know you over the school year. So, I suggested all of us come to visit.”

            “Speaking of Sirius, where is he?” said Harry, noticing the absence of his godfather.

            “Strangest thing,” said Susanna, “we were coming down the road when we were approached by a muggle woman – Pamela, I believe he called her – who seemed very familiar with our dear cousin.  She talked him into joining her for a cup of tea, so I wouldn’t suspect him for an hour at the very least.”       

            “Sounds like Sirius,” said Lily, looking both amused and scandalized, “it is very nice to meet you, Susanna.”

            “The feeling is mutual, Mrs. Potter,” said Susanna sweetly, offering her hand out to Lily.

            “Miss Susie!”

            They all jumped at the loud squeak of Dobby’s voice.  None of them were more shocked than Susanna, who was now being hugged around her legs by the sobbing elf.  Susanna stared down at the elf, shock and confusion on her face.

            “Dobby!?” she gasped.

            “Miss Susie! Dobby thought he would never see you again after he escaped from the Malfoys!” Dobby cried, still gripping the girl’s legs.

            “I don’t live with the Malfoys anymore, Dobby,”

            “Then the both of us are free!” cried Dobby.

            Susanna looked up from the elf and at Harry, confusion clear on her face.

            _Why didn’t you tell me_? Her look said.

            Harry gave her an apologetic look, hoping she would not be mad.  She looked confused and a little hurt before her face melted into comprehension.  She nodded and gave a him a sad smile and a nod of understanding.  She began to crouch down, causing Dobby to break his grip and standing back, apologetic but still happy.

            “I never thought I would see you again either, Dobby,” she said kindly, crouched to about the elf’s level, “and yes, we are both free.” She extended her arms out to the elf, who threw himself into the embrace.

~0oo0~

            “Well, Cedric, it is very pleasing to meet you,” said Sirius as he shook Cedric’s hand.  His godfather had finally shown up an hour and a half later, clothes slightly in a disarray and hair messy.

            “Pleasing to meet you as well, Sir,” responded Cedric.

            “Congratulations on catching the most likeable boy on the planet,” Susanna whispered teasingly into Harry’s ear.  Harry was inclined to agree.  Cedric was the type of boy who any parent could love, and would be ecstatic to see their daughter (or son, in this case) bring home.

            “So, they’re letting him stay in your room?” she said casually.

            “How did you know that?” demanded Harry.

            “You just told me.” She said smartly.  “Besides, Sirius is staying here, and you only have one guest room.  I also doubt your parents would make Cedric sleep on the couch after what he’s been through,” her voice became serious at the end.

            “How do you know he’s been through anything?” Harry asked,

            “Just a guess,” said Susanna, “the good thing about being a pessimist is that you’re always either right or pleasantly surprised,”

            Harry didn’t respond, only sighing.

            “If you want, I can help you to help him take his mind off things,” said Susanna, lacing her arm through Harry’s.  At the look of surprise and slight panic on Harry’s face, Susanna rolled her eyes, “Get your mind out of the gutter,” she scolded, “I meant that I hear your boyfriend has quite a large jealous bone, and feeling territorial might get his mind off of his problems and more on snogging you blue.”

            Harry felt hot around the collar and, now that he was paying attention, he noticed that Cedric was casting quite a few glances toward him and Susanna.

            “I don’t feel right manipulating him up like that,” protested Harry, albeit rather weakly.

            “Don’t worry,” said Susanna slyly, “I’ll be the one doing the manipulating – you just sit there and look like a victim.”

            “Would you like us to do this in front of Fred, as well?” Harry said innocently.

            Susanna looked surprised for a split second before looking impressed, “What makes you think I fancy him?” she said with no real heat.

            “The look you just had was pretty good evidence.” said Harry, “you know he fancies you too, right?”

            “Oh, of course I knew that,” Susanna said airily.

            “Then why did you say no when he asked you to the ball?”

            “Well, I didn’t know then,” she clarified, “and besides, I wasn’t about to say yes when he asked me because of a dare.”

            “I suppose that’s fair,” Harry acquiesced, “so you do fancy him back?”

            She only shrugged. “He is not a completely deplorable choice” she allowed, “he’s funny, generally good natured, and also fairly handsome.  Besides, maybe if I got together with him I could get Delphi to disown me and leave me alone.”

            “Delphi?”

            Susanna rolled her eyes, “She’s been trying to ‘reconcile’ with me.  She keeps talking about our family’s ‘noble heritage’ and is trying to get me to let Barty introduce me to some of his pureblood friends,” she said distastefully.

            “Barty? You mean Barty Crouch?” said Harry, remembering Delphini’s interaction with the Crouch family at the Quidditch World Cup.

            “Junior,” added Susanna with a sneer, “Delphi has been courting him since the summer.”

            “Your sister and Young Barty?” said Tonks, having clearly been paying more attention than she let on.  Her acknowledgement drew the attention of the rest of the room.

            “What about Young Barty?” said James.

            Susanna was not embarrassed by more attention being focused on her, “My sister has been digging her claws into Barty Crouch, Jr,” she explained bitterly. “Planning to make a whole bunch of new baby Slytherins.”

            “And old Barty is okay with that?” said James, a hint of surprise in his tone, “even though he sent her – your – parents to Azkaban?”

            “The Lestrange family is still a rich one,” said Sirius sardonically. “But speaking of baby Slytherins; my brother Regulus’ son, Perseus, will be starting Hogwarts next year and – “

            “And you would like me to keep an eye on him?” Susanna surmised.

            “If you don’t mind.  I just don’t want him to fall into the wrong crowd,”

            “And what would Regulus and Melpomene think of this?” said Susanna skeptically.

            “Regulus is not near as bad as he used to be, he’s matured quite a bit.”

            As the conversation continued, Cedric inched until he was at Harry’s side.  Harry looked up towards the older boy and noticed that his smile had gone crooked and his eyebrow was arched.

            “Are you trying to provoke me Harry?” Cedric whispered in Harry’s ear.  His arm wrapped around Harry, pulling them tighter together.  His voice was mostly teasing, but there was an undertone that sent shivers up Harry’s spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longer-than-usual wait time. Due to school my schedule will continue to be erratic but I'll try to have there be no more than a week between updates.


	20. It's Oh So Quiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I was going to do anything sexual until the sequel but well... The tags and rating have been updated. Enjoy!

~0 Cedric 0~

            Sometimes Cedric wondered exactly _when_ Harry would be ready to have sex.

            It was one of those errant thoughts that he couldn’t control but always felt guilty for letting it cross his mind.  The fact remained, though, that Cedric was a teenage boy with a libido who found his boyfriend very attractive.  The fact also remained that said boyfriend was three years younger, which for teenagers was a significant age difference.  Cedric was already pushing the situation by sharing a bed with Harry, and exacerbating it further currently by making out with him.  He had been (mostly) teasing Harry earlier, but the opportunities to be alone were few and far between at Hogwarts, so sue him for wanting to take advantage of extended alone time with his boyfriend.

            They had both shed their shirts at some point, and Cedric was relishing the extra skin-to-skin contact.  Their lower bodies, however, were clothed in sleep pants.  Cedric had smartly guessed that wearing only briefs below the waist to bed again was a bad idea.  Sure enough, his pants were feeling awfully tight and he had to repress the urge to press his crotch forward to seek relief.  His brain went into short circuit when it was Harry that pressed forward.  Losing himself for a moment, Cedric pressed forward and moaned into his boyfriend’s mouth.

            “Harry?” Cedric said questioningly, pulling back slightly.

            “I’m not ready for the full ride yet,” said Harry, “but I think at the very least we can take the edge off.”

            Cedric felt his pulse pick up. ”O-okay,” he stuttered, then pulled himself together again and once again said “okay” in a steadier voice.

            Harry smiled in a way that was both amused and nervous.  He shifted away from Cedric slightly then turned over until he was on his back.  He spread his legs wide enough so that Cedric’s body would be able to fit between them.

            The older boy had forgotten how to breathe.  His pulse was racing and he suddenly felt both hot and cold at once.  Despite being older than Harry and supposedly the most popular boy in Hufflepuff, Cedric had never done more than kiss another person.  Reverently, he shifted until he was above Harry, putting his legs between Harry’s and lowering himself onto him.  He watched Harry’s face for signs of discomfort in case he put too much weight on him, not wanting to labor Harry’s breathing or squish anything particularly delicate.  Once he was fully mounted, Cedric stayed still for a moment, basking in the intimacy.   Behind his own heartbeat, he could feel the thump of Harry’s own heart against his chest.  Cedric barely held himself back from uttering an _I love you_ , knowing that telling someone you love them for the first time during sex was a huge no-no.

            “Aren’t you going to move?” said Harry below him.

            Cedric realized he’d been so caught up that he had frozen on top of Harry for at least a minute.  Trying to pass it off, he gave Harry a teasing, sexy smile.  Cedric leaned down and slanted his lips against Harry’s, reinstating their previous activity.  He began to grind down, partially failing to hold back a moan.  He knew that they needed to stay quiet so as to not wake Harry’s parents downstairs, or Sirius down the hall.  Harry was making small sounds below him, also trying to hold himself back.  Cedric did feel guilty that Mr. and Mrs. Potter had trusted them enough to let them share a room and now he was humping their son into the mattress.  He rapidly decided, though, that thinking of his boyfriend’s parents while doing the aforementioned activity was rather inappropriate and banished it from his mind.

            At first Cedric wondered if frottage though clothes would actually be enough to bring him off.  Rapidly he was realizing that not only was that not a problem but he was not going to last very long at all.  He felt his orgasm building and thrust harder against Harry, chasing his own release.  Within minutes he was tensing and moaning into Harry’s mouth as he climaxed.  He slumped, boneless and with his arms barely supporting him as he came down from his high.

            “Um, Cedric?” Harry’s voice said faintly below him.

            “Hmm?” Cedric hummed, too blissed to form words.

            “Um, do you think you could help me… you know… “

            For a moment Cedric didn’t comprehend what Harry was trying to tell him.  When realization did come, it brought a sense of mortification and embarrassment so profound that Cedric was tempted to disapparate away to the nearest cliff and jump off the edge.

            Harry hadn’t come.

            Cedric had.

            Cedric hadn’t even been able to outlast his fourteen year old boyfriend.

            Unable to think of any words he could say, Cedric resumed his grinding, helping Harry chase his own release.  Without the haze of lust Cedric was now more aware of his surroundings.  He was wet in his pants, adding to his embarrassment.  He was also aware of how much the bed creaked when their movements became more vigorous, which worried him and expect James Potter to bust in and curse him any minute.  It wasn’t enough to make him stop, but it did make him dread breakfast the next morning.  After a few minutes Harry tensed and Cedric smothered the moan, their activities already noisier than he really liked.

            When Harry had relaxed into his afterglow, Cedric gently rolled off of him.  His own afterglow having been cut short by his embarrassment, Cedric decided he may as well clean them up.  Grabbing his want, he pointed it at the wet front of his sleep pants and muttered “ _Tergeo_ ”, feeling satisfied as his pants became dry.  He cast the charm again on Harry, then placed his wand back on the nightstand and laid back on the bed next to Harry.

            “So..” said Harry a little awkwardly.

            “So,” said Cedric, a lot awkward.

            “You haven’t done this before, have you?”

            “No,” Cedric confirmed.

            “Oh,” said Harry, “good.”

            “Good?” questioned Cedric, turning to look at Harry.

            “I mean,” Harry said, not really looking Cedric in the eye, “I kind of like it, you know – being your first.  It’s kind of… you know…”

            “Romantic?” said Cedric, embarrassment beginning to melt away.

            Harry just snorted, although with no heat.  Cedric rolled over and put his arms around him and moving the two of them into a spooning position.  Harry shuffled in his grip but did not contest it, quickly relaxing.  Soon Harry’s breath evened out as he fell into a deep, sated sleep.  Cedric stayed awake though, and when he was sure the other boy was fast asleep, he breathed out the quiet words, without anything the haze of sex clouding his judgement and only waiting for the boy to fall asleep because Cedric was sure they had not been together nearly long enough for Harry to truly reciprocate.

            _“I love you.”_


	21. Cruising for a Bruising

            “Harry! Your lip!”

            “What?” Harry says, hand automatically going up to examine his mouth.

            “Your top lip – it’s black!” Cedric said, panic entering his voice.

            Harry moved towards the dresser mirror, a sense of dread pooling low in his stomach.  When he stood in front of the mirror, there was a large, black bruise on his top lip.

            “When did you bite my top lip?” said Harry accusingly.

            “I don’t know!” said Cedric defensively, “I wasn’t paying attention half the time!  Oh God, you’re parents are going to kill me –“

            “Cedric,” said Harry.

            “ – your dad will turn me into a dog –“

            “Cedric,”

            “ – maybe we can say I accidentally elbowed you –“

            “Cedric!” Harry snapped impatiently.

            Cedric stopped his rambling and looked at Harry, panic still in his eyes.

            “Are you or are you not a wizard?” Harry asked slowly, as if trying to calm a frightened animal.

            “Oh,” said Cedric, panic fading into embarrassment.  Not looking Harry in the eye, Cedric retrieved his wand off of the nightstand and went to stand in front of his boyfriend.  Colored cheeks belying his look of serious concentration, he pointed the wand towards Harry’s face. “Hold still,” he commanded, Harry complying, albeit exaggeratedly.

            “ _Episkey_ ,”

            Harry recognized the spell as one his mother would occasionally use on minor injuries Harry (and James) would accrue.  There was a familiar sensation of being very hot and then very cold.  Cedric sighed in relief, the charm having apparently worked.

            “You’re more of a spaz than I expected you to be,” Harry mused.  Cedric gave him an indignant look, his lip going into a pout that Harry personally found adorable.

            “I’m right to worry!” Cedric protested, “Your parents would castrate me if they knew what we did last night!  It’s bad enough that they might have heard us, they don’t need physical proof as well!”

            Harry colored, remembering the creaking the bed had made during their activities.  At the time, Harry’s sex-addled mind had reasoned that the noise truly wasn’t so prominent.  In the clear-minded light of day, though, it made Harry nervous.  It was a lucky thing that Dobby had not come to wake them up yet.

            As if summoned by the thought, the little elf appeared in the room, causing both boys to nearly jump out of their skin.  Both of them recovered from their fright and tried not to look to guilty as the elf spoke.

            “Miss Lily requests that misters Harry and Cedric come downstairs for breakfast.  Also, Mistress would like me to inform you that Master Remus has arrived.”

            “Thanks, Dobby,” said Harry.  The elf bowed and promptly disappeared.

            “Well,” said Cedric, “might as well get this over with,”

            “Wait!” Harry said, suddenly.

            “What?”

            “Remus,” said Harry nervously, “Professor Lupin, I don’t know if you heard but he’s – “

            “A werewolf?” Cedric finished.

            “You heard,” said Harry.  He had been hesitant to tell Cedric.  Most people feared werewolves – and the fear was not unfounded – and Harry was worried Cedric would react negatively to him having a werewolf in the family.  He also knew it was likely that Cedric had already heard, considering it was the entire reason Remus had left Hogwarts.

            “Yeah,” said Cedric, “I’m sorry to say my dad was one of the people demanding his sacking.  I was sad when he left though – he was a good teacher,”

            “He was,” Harry agreed.  He felt anger and sadness over the treatment his father’s friend had endured.

            “Well, we might as well go and see whether I’m going to be castrated or not,” Cedric joked to break the moment, although there was a bit of fear in his eyes.

            “Don’t worry,” Harry said, grabbing and squeezing his boyfriend’s hand, “I’m sure I can hold them off long enough for you to escape.”

            Cedric laughed at that, some of the tension visibly draining out of him.  Harry tried to let Cedric’s hand go but his boyfriend had a different idea, twining their fingers and linking their hands together.  Feeling warm and tingly, Harry allowed Cedric to lead them out of the room and down the stairs.  Harry noticed that Sirius had already woken up, his bed surprisingly made.  They dropped their hands before entering the kitchen.

            As promised, Remus sat at the table along with table, laughing along with James, Sirius, and Lily.  The sight touched Harry, seeing the Marauders together again.  Remus spotted Harry and promptly stood up, moving to greet him.

            “Hello, Remus,” said Harry.

            “Hello, cub,” Remus returned, pulling Harry into a quick but warm hug.  He pulled back and his eyes locked on Cedric, who was back to his respectful visage.

            “Hello, Professor Lupin,” he said, holding his hand out, “I don’t know if you remember me but – “

            “Of course I remember you, Mr. Diggory,” Remus took Cedric’s hand, “it’s wonderful to see you again – and to see how… close you and Harry have become.”

            “Um, yeah,” Cedric coughed.  Harry looked around but, while everyone seemed amused by Cedric’s embarrassment, they showed no sign of having heard Harry and Cedric’s illicit activities the night before.

            “This is touching and all,” Sirius stood up, “but I have a date with a nice bird down the lane.” As he walked past them, he clasped Cedric’s shoulder and then pulled Harry into a full hug.  Harry was confused for a second before returning the hug.  The confusion abated and was replaced by horror when Sirius whispered in his ear.

_“Try to be a bit quieter next time – don’t worry, your parents didn’t hear, but I need sleep too.”_

            Harry tried his best to keep his face composed, but thought he did not quite manage it.  Luckily, he was mostly turned towards Cedric.  The widening of Cedric’s eyes said that Harry definitely was not successful.  Sirius let go of Harry and merrily left for the front door, giving them a quick wave over the shoulder before exiting.

            “Why don’t you two eat some breakfast?  Then maybe afterwards you can get a head start on your homework,” Lily said with a pointed look.

            “Mum, we got all – “

            “Of course, Mrs. Potter,”  Cedric cut across him, “I can even help Harry.”

            “That’s very nice of you, Cedric,” James said, looking amusedly at them, “it’s good to know there are still boys out there who know how to properly suck up to the parents.  Oh, and before I forget,” he said, “there’s this charm, it goes ‘ _muffliato’_ , and I think you might do well to learn it.”

            “Why?  What’s it for?” Cedric asks curiously.

            “It muffles noise,” James deadpanned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few things:  
> 1\. The black lip thing was something that happened to my friend and I thought it was hilarious so I decided to use it.
> 
> 2\. I don't know if any of you were wondering, but I did not forget Peter Pettigrew. I just don't like him and don't know how to write him in, although I might work him in eventually.
> 
> 3\. I don't know if you can tell (you probably can), but while I love Dobby writing him is a bitch for me!


	22. Word of Mouth

~0 Delphini 0~

            “How many people did you say would be there again,” Delphini asked Barty lightly as they walk arm-in-arm down the path out of Malfoy Manor.

            “Not many, dear,” Barty answered idly, still looking around at the garish appearance of the property.  His eyes lazily followed a pure white peacock that was strutting along the top of a yew hedge.

            “How many is ‘not many’?” pushed Delphini.  Barty was taking her to visit an old schoolmate of his, Troy Riddle.  That Barty had not yet given her a straight answer irritated her – she did not like surprises.

            “I’m not sure,” admitted Barty, “Troy said they were not inviting more people, but some members of the family may show up.  We’re going to Riddle Manor, so – let’s see – Troy and Vera will be there, along with their children.  Expect Professor Riddle and Pandora, along with Mrs. Mulciber too, as she’s been living there since her husband died.”

            “It’ll be nice to see Professor Riddle again,” Delphini commented.  Professor Tom Riddle had taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for forty years and the Head of Slytherin House for ten years after the retirement of Professor Slughorn.  Delphini had always enjoyed his lessons;  Professor Riddle had emphasized that the best way to face the Dark Arts was to know how to attack as well as defend.

            They walked through the wrought iron gate exiting the property until they were outside of the anti-apparition wards.  Turning on the spot, both disappeared with a pop.  They reappeared on a country road just inside the woods that bordered a vast lawn.  The path led up to a large, handsome manor house that stood prominent on the hill.  However, the house only appeared handsome to the wizards.  Any muggle that happened by would see an old house that was overgrown and fallen into disrepair.  As far as they were concerned, the Riddle House was owned by a rich man for “tax reasons” who neither lived in it or put it to use.  The witch and wizard, however, saw a well-manicured lawn and a house that had been meticulously taken care of.

            “What a beautiful house,” said Delphini as the companions started up the path,   
although the neighbors leave a lot to be desired.” She cast a disdainful glance back towards the village behind them, Little Hangleton, which was heavily populated by muggles.

            “Lady Riddle’s family used to live on the other side of the valley, although in far less acceptable conditions,” Barty told her.

            Delphini knew the story of the Riddle family quite well.  The village had once been the home to the last members of the House of Gaunt, a pure-blood family descended from the noble Salazar Slytherin.  Inbreeding and a lack of sense had diminished the family from its former grandeur to savagery and squalor.  The last members, Marvolo and his children Morfin and Merope, were living in a mere shack.  A series of transgressions landed both of the male members in Azkaban, and Merope, the last viable member of the family, was left alone.  From there, she met Tom Riddle, another remnant of a dying family.  Soon they were married and from their union the Slytherin line was given new life with the births of their children Tom, Demetria, and Julius Riddle.

            There was a rumor that the family was not as pure as it claimed to be.  Both heads of the family were recluses and few had actually ever met them in person.  Tom, Sr. was supposedly sickly due to an old curse and Merope quite shy.  The rumor was that the family patriarch was actually a muggle man who Merope had seduced.  The rumors were further exacerbated by the fact that records of neither Merope or Tom or any other Riddle of distinction existed in Hogwarts, nor were they listed as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight (or course, neither were the Potters nor the Browns, both of whom had been pureblood at the time of the list’s publication).  The rumors never gained traction, though; nobody dared challenge the Riddle siblings directly on their ancestry, and as far as most families were concerned, being descendants of Salazar Slytherin negated any filth in their blood.

            Moving up the path towards the house, Delphini glanced around her.  The Riddle Manor lacked the opulence of Malfoy Manor; the property was well cared for, but less garish.  Delphini was unable to spot any indicator that a wizarding family lived here at first.  Suddenly, Barty jerked to a sudden stop, startling Delphini.  She looked over at him crossly, but saw that his wide eyes were focused on something directly in front of them.  Following his gaze, Delphini’s own eyes widened at the sight that greeted her.  A long, slender shadow was sliding along the ground across the path.  The snake was much bigger than what one would expect to see in Britain; the thickest part was the same thickness of a grown man’s waist.  The two waited nervously until the serpent had disappeared.

            “The trials of a house full of Parselmouths,” Barty joked half-heartedly as they made their way up to the door.

            Before they were close enough to knock, the doors swung open to reveal a woman.  She was tall and held herself with a haughtiness typical of purebloods,  her steel-gray hair hung down to her shoulders and her dark eyes looked at them shrewdly.  Delphini was immediately intimidated, feeling this was not a woman you would want to be enemies with.

            “Hello, Mrs. Muliciber,” greeted Barty, “I believe Troy is expecting me?”

            Her stern face broke into a polite smile, which surprised Delphini greatly.  She did not think this woman would be capable of the movement, although Delphini did notice that the smile did not completely reach her eyes.

            “Of course he is,” she confirmed, “and you must be Miss Delphini,” she eyed her up and down.  The smile remained, but Delphini could feel that she was being sized up.

            “Please, call me Delphi,” she said automatically.

            She nodded, “Well, come in, then,” she turned around to lead them back into the house, but she turned around and gave Barty a stern look over her shoulder, “And Barty, you are not a child anymore – none of that ‘Mrs. Mulciber’ business, call me Demetria.”

            “As you wish Mrs. – I mean Demetria,” Barty corrected himself.  Demetria raised an eyebrow, but her lips turned up into the suggestion of a smile. 

            Barty and Delphini followed her, through the hall and down the stairs.  She nearly pulled out her wand when she saw a movement from the corner of her eye, remembering the large creature they had seen outside.  She reigned in the impulse though – it was probably just a house elf anyway.  They climbed up the stairs, past portraits of wizards, some Delphini recognized and some she didn’t, whose eyes followed them.  They approached the drawing room, where a pleasant hum of conversation could be heard.  Automatically, Delphini tried to distinguish the voices to get idea of how many people were in the room, and was relieved when there was decidedly few.

            Upon entering the drawing room Delphini automatically began to catalog all the people in the room.  Two men and a woman stood together in the center of the room, all of whom Delphini recognized from one place or another.  Troy Riddle was Barty’s age and had the typical Riddle good looks and features; pale skin, black hair, and dark eyes.  Vera Riddle was lighter than her husband, both her eyes and hair a soft light brown.  The other man was only barely an adult, not far out of Hogwarts and looking like a younger version of Troy, although his eyes were hazel instead of dark.  Delphini recognized Gareth Riddle, who had been a year below her in Hogwarts and the leader of the Slytherin boys.  Two children, a boy and a girl, stood a little ways off looking bored.  Silena Riddle was around Hogwarts age and the approximation of her father, while Janus Riddle was a few years younger and took more after his mother.

            Three older adults sat in armchairs around the room.  Delphini immediately recognized her old Professor and Head of House, Tom Riddle sitting in the middle.  His hair, steel gray like his sister’s, was carefully smoothed back and his dark eyes observing the room, handsome even in his old age.  To his right, Pandora Riddle was slim with silver hair and emerald green eyes and an aura of total confidence. 

            The woman on Professor Riddle’s left immediately caught Delphini’s attention, for surely this was Merope Riddle.  She was easily the oldest person in the room, with snow-white hair and a stooped posture.  Her eyes were closed, as if asleep.  She was dressed in finery, and there was a gold locket resting against her collarbone; from where she stood Delphini could make out the letter _S_ inlaid into the locket with glittering green stones.

            “We have company,” Demetria announced as she led them into the room, promptly moving to take her place in the armchair to the left of Merope.

            “Barty!” Troy greeted in a manner more exuberant than would be expected.  Grasping his friend by his arm and pulling him into a quick hug.

            “Hello, Troy.  It’s good to see you,” Barty returned, then promptly turned to Vera, “and you, dear Vera,” he gave her a swift kiss on the hand.

            “Thank you, Barty,” said Vera in her soft voice, her eyes then fell on Delphini, “and could this be miss Delphi Lestrange?”

            “Charmed, Vera,” Delphini said, pulling the woman into a quick hug, “it is too rare that I get to see you.”

            “Hello, Lady Delphi,” Troy greeted her next, kissing her hand.

            “Pleased to see you, Troy,” Delphini had to reign in her natural tendency to flirt.  Troy was a married man and Vera was watching Delphi.  It was hard, since Troy was considerably handsome, but she was rather fond of Barty and what he had to offer.

            “I believe you went to school with Gary?” Troy commented, bringing the young man forward.  The young man cringed at the nickname, but did not bother to protest it.

            “I do recall,” Delphini said, but neither of them made a move to greet each other beyond an acknowledging nod.  It was better that way – Gareth was, as far as Delphini knew, single and rather young as well as handsome.

            “And I believe Uncle Tom was your professor?” Troy said.

            “He was,” she turned to greet her old teacher, “I hope you are doing well, Professor Riddle.”

            “I am doing well, thank you,” said Professor Riddle, smiling charmingly.  The man had always been pale and a little sickly, which some suspected he inherited from his father.  He did not seem to be near as affected as Tom Riddle Sr. had apparently been, being able to teach classes for years, and the sickness had not afflicted any other members of the family.

            “It makes me happy to see one of Tom’s students doing so well, Delphini,” said Pandora, smiling and reaching out to grasp her hand affectionately.

            “I don’t believe you’ve met my dear mother, have you Delphini?” Tom said, before reaching over to put his left hand, on which sat a gold ring inset with a black stone, onto his mother’s wrinkled one, “Mother? This is Delphini Lestrange, one of my former students,”

            Merope’s eyes opened, and it was only years of social training that prevented Dephini from reacting.  The woman’s eyes stared off in different directions, creating the unsettling appearance of observing the entire room.  It was becoming increasingly clear to Delphini that the Riddles inherited their looks from their patriarch.  She also understood why the matriarch had generally avoided the public eye.

            “Hello, Lady Riddle,” said Delphini, in a clear voice and slightly louder than she would usually use.  She wasn’t sure whether Merope would have full hearing or not.

            “Hello, young one,” Merope Riddle said, her voice was contrastingly soft.  Without another word, she closed her eyes once again.

            “Grandmother gets rather tired in the evening,” Troy explained apologetically, drawing attention away from the old woman.

            “So, Barty, will you be attending the final task for the Triwizard Tournament?” asked Demetria.

            “Most likely – it will certainly be interesting,” Barty said mysteriously.

            “Really?  What will the champions have to do?” Troy asked conspiratorially.

            “Oh now Troy, you know I can’t tell you that,” said Barty.

            “Or you don’t know,” said Gareth idly.  Troy gave the young man a sharp look.  Barty seemed to take it with relatively good humor, though.

            “Now, baiting won’t work, Gary,” Barty said in a mock-scolding voice.  Troy laughed and Gareth smiled, although it was a little tight.

            “But surely you can give us a hint?” Vera asked ingratiatingly.

            “You know I can’t,” insisted Barty, thoroughly enjoying himself, “you could always come watch the task though.”

            “You know what, that may not be such a bad idea,” said Troy, “Silena will start Hogwarts this coming year – this should give her a chance to have a look around.”

            “You will be attending, won’t you Delphi?” asked Vera, “your sister still goes to Hogwarts, doesn’t she?”

            “Yes, she does,” Delphini said, suddenly feeling defensive.  Was Vera trying to needle her?  Surely she had heard about Susie’s newfound rebellious phase.

            But that was not Vera’s intention, “Gareth, you should go see it too.  That way you can have a look around your old stomping grounds, as well as catch up with Susanna,”

            “She was in second year when I left,” Gareth pointed out, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

            “Yes but I remember she used to have a bit a crush on you – I’m sure she would be happy to see you again,” Vera pointed out with an edge to her voice.

            Delphini realized what was happening immediately, and she was inclined to agree.  The faster Gareth Riddle found a proper wife, the better – the same for Susanna and finding a husband.  With so few pure families left, it was better to find a spouse as soon as possible, lest the more desirable prospects be taken.  Gareth and Susanna were both desirable (Susanna despite her temperament) and would make a handsome couple, if they prove compatible.  It would also be fortuitous for both families – The only heirs to the Lestrange fortune, the marriage would make the Riddle’s richer, and the Lestrange line would be able to live on in the Slytherin line.  Now, if only Delphini could get Susie to be receptive to the match.  Or Gareth, who looked as if he was about to protest, but before he could open his mouth, Professor Riddle cut across him.

            “I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” he said calmly, but with a strain of command in his tone.

            Gareth’s face lost any sign of protest, becoming carefully blank and resigned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn I've been cranking these out fast the last few days I decided that just because Voldemort didn't happen doesn't mean Tom Riddle didn't! There's a bit more to the story that you may be able to guess (although it's probably only obvious to me) that I might reveal later (most likely in the sequel).


	23. Return Trip

            “So, how was your break?”

            Cedric was becoming more and more certain that Susanna was secretly a legilimens.  The girl had been giving him and Harry sly looks ever since they met at Kings Cross.  Cedric, Harry, Ron (who kept ducking anytime someone passed, afraid of being found by Lavender Brown), Hermione, Carina, and Susanna had chosen a compartment together.  Cedric was beginning to regret this, however, since the Slytherin girl seemed to be completely aware that the half-joking plan she had enacted at the Potter House had worked far better than she could have expected.

            “I thought you said you couldn’t read minds,” said Harry accusingly.

            Susanna just rolled her eyes, “I can’t, but I can read people – and you two are written in bold, capital letters,”

            This statement caused Cedric both discomfort and, strangely, warmth.  He was so used to hiding his real self behind the expectations of others that someone being able to see him inspired mixed feelings.  The wall of perfection he had built had become such a part of him that he was afraid to look out from behind it.  When he thinks about it, that was most likely why Cedric had never had much of a relationship.  He didn’t dare to date boys like he wanted to and ruin his golden boy image, and the girls he dated always talked about what a gentleman he was, how Cedric would never try to push their boundaries and he would hold their hand and leave them with a kiss on the cheek.  Little did they know that he did this because he wasn’t interesting in their curves and delicate features, and he was too afraid of disappointing them to even try to instigate anything more intimate.

            Harry was the full exception though.  The opposite of making him want to be a better person, Cedric wanted to show Harry all of his imperfections, because he knew Harry did not expect perfection from him. 

            “Is there something on my face?”

            Cedric started, realizing that he had been staring. “No,” he said, “you’re perfect,” he said, embarrassing himself with how sappy it came out.

            “You two are going to give me cavities,” Carina said, hint of a giggle in her voice.

            Instead of reacting shyly, Cedric through his arm around Harry and pulled him in close and resting their heads together.  Harry grumbled and wriggled slightly but made no real effort to escape.

            Susanna rolled her eyes, but there was a unmistakable fondness in her gaze.

            “You two are clingier than a pair of snargaluffs,” joked Ron good naturedly,

            “At least they’re not you and Lavender,” Carina teased.  Cedric missed Hermione’s slight flinch, but did notice the way Ron ducked at the mere mention of the name.

            So did Susanna, “Do you even like her?” she asked crossly.

            “Truthfully, I want to end it,” Ron said sheepishly, “but every time I hint at wanting to break it off, she just holds on tighter!” he visibly shuddered.  Hermione was now looking significantly more cheerful, but still did not give her own opinion.

            “Maybe try to get her to break up with you?” Cedric suggested.

            Ron shrugged, “Maybe,” he concedes.  Then he seems to realize something and looks around, “I’m surprised none of your fan club is around,” he remarked.

            Not really able to articulate an acceptable response, Cedric just shrugged.  When he thought about it, it was hard for him to regard any of his Housemates as actual ‘friends’.  He remembered the speech Professor McGonagall gave to all the first years, stating that your house would become like a family.  In that case, Cedric would have perhaps been the big brother, or even the father.  He put up the front of being perfect and having no problems, resulting in a situation where, while the other Hufflepuffs were glad to come to Cedric with their problems and ask for his advice, he never asked them to return the favor and left them with the impression that he never had any problems of his own.  In that respect, Cedric thought it was his fault for keeping them at arm’s length.

            Harry was different though.  Or, Cedric was a different person when he was around Harry – his real self.  By extension, the people who were around Cedric when he was around Harry saw past the hard, shiny cover and into the contents.

            There was a bit of an awkward lull in the conversation, but it was quickly cut short by the compartment door sliding open to reveal a grinning Fred Weasley and Lee Jordan.

            “Hello, ladies and gents,” said Fred.

            “Where’s George?” Ron said shortly.

            “What’s wrong with you?” Susanna asked him.

            “Oh, ickle Ronnykins is mad because we told Mum about his him and Lavender and she decided it was time to give him and Ginny ‘the talk’,” Fred said mockingly, inciting a snigger from Lee Jordan.  Susanna and Carina both giggled while Cedric and Harry both winced.

            “Worst moment of my life,” Ron muttered.

            “I sympathize,” Cedric said, “Harry and I got the same treatment from our parents.”

            “We do _not_ need to relive that,” Harry groaned.

            “Well at least – wait,” Ron said, “you hadn’t had ‘the talk’ yet?”

            “Well, yeah,” Cedric said nervously, “but my Mum decided that I needed an… er… update,”

            Even Hermione giggled.

            “Update?” said Ron, not quite comprehending.

            “It means that Harry and Cedric were caught fooling around,” said Susanna casually.  Fred and Lee sniggered and Ron’s eyebrows jumped into his hairline.

            “Where is George?” Harry coughed, clearly trying to change the subject.

            “Talking up Roger Davies,” said Lee.

            “Roger Davies?” said Ron, stunned, “didn’t he go to the Ball with Fleur?”

            “They didn’t keep seeing each other, though,” said Susanna, “he asked me out a month ago.  It doesn’t – “

            “Roger Davies asked you out?” said Fred with an edge in his voice.

            “Yes, he did,” said Susanna dismissively.  “Anyways, it doesn’t really surprise me that he’d entertain the thought of being with a guy.  Likes pleasure, Davies does – wherever he can get it.”

            “Davies asked you out?” Fred asked again.  Lee was grinning and Ron was gleaning no small amount of satisfaction.

            “Yes,” said Susanna, now slightly annoyed, “I said no, though.”

            “Why’d you say no?” asked Hermione curiously.  Fred also seemed to be curious at the answer.

            “And what about that French bloke you went to the Ball with?” asked Harry.

            “Davies is so full of himself there’s no room for anyone else – except George apparently,” everyone either sniggered and snorted, even Hermione as she tried to cover it with a cough.

            “As for Patrick, well, he turned out to be a bit full of something else, if you know what I mean,” she said derisively, “besides, I’m too busy with my O.W.L.s to worry about some boy at the moment.”

            That eventually launched them into a conversation about studying, mostly between Susanna, Carina, and Hermione and Cedric.  The other boys quickly tired of the conversation and began a game of exploding snap.  This carried on for the remainder of the trip until they reached Hogwarts and exited the train.  This was also the time when George showed up after having been absent for most of the journey.  His hair and clothes were in disarray and he looked very pleased with himself.

            “You should see the other guy,” he quipped.

            And indeed, they spotted an equally ruffled Roger Davies exiting the train from the same direction George had come from, appearing to be having a difficult time moving in a straight line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is a little all over the place but oh well.


	24. Lone Star in a Dark Night

            The Spring breeze ruffled Harry’s hair pleasantly as he idly read his Transfiguration textbook, which was currently propped against a sleeping Cedric’s head, which was in his lap.  Studying outside had been the compromise Ron and Harry had concocted in order to get Hermione to stop nagging them about studying for finals and to allow them to enjoy the beautiful Spring weather rather than be holed up in the library.  The decision didn’t prove fruitful, at least not for studying.  Harry had been reading the same sentence over and over again for the past ten minutes and Ron had given up completely, making his textbook hover in the air with his wand.

            Susanna and Carina were similarly occupied, but instead of levitating were transfiguring a rock into a various animals and back again.  Only Hermione seemed able to focus on studying in such perfect weather.

            “You two need to focus,” she said, looking up from her own book.

            “’Us two’?” said Ron indignantly, “these three aren’t studying either!” he gestured around to their other companions.

            “They don’t need as much prompting as you two do, and Cedric doesn’t have finals on account of the tournament,” Hermione said caustically.  Susanna and Carina both grinned at them.

            “Seriously, Hermione,” Harry pled, “between you and Cedric, I’m certain my brain is close to exploding!”  Harry’s boyfriend, to his exasperation, was just as much of a task master as Hermione when it came to homework.  Granted, Cedric was much better at giving Harry incentive than Hermione…

            “Fine,” Hermione finally acquiesced, “I _suppose_ a break wouldn’t hurt.  At the very least you have someone else to be a good influence on you.”  The last part was pointed enough that Ron looked slightly indignant.

            “Where is dear Lavender, Ron?” asked Susanna airily.

            “With Parvati,” muttered Ron, a little darkly, “she tried to get me along, but they were going to hang out with Dean and Seamus so I put my foot down, “

            “What do you have against Dean and Seamus?” asked Harry.

            Ron looked at him, confusion on his face, “I’m not about the about to be around a bigot like Seamus, especially when he’s saying things about my best friend,”

            “Seamus has been saying things about me?” Harry knew he shouldn’t be surprised.  Seamus was always a bit thick and it was inevitable that not everybody would be accepting, but he had not faced any real homophobia other than Draco’s sneering, which he noticed only ever occurred when neither Cedric or Susanna were around and while he was accompanied by a large group of Slytherins.

            “You didn’t notice? He’s been the first out of the dorm for half the year,” said Ron, now looking a bit uncomfortable.

            “Huh?” said Cedric, waking up.

            “Are you honestly surprised?” said Susanna, “He’s been so deep in the roses with Cedric it’s not surprising he wouldn’t be totally aware of his surroundings.”

            “Why hasn’t he ever said anything to my face?” said Harry, feeling anger beginning to creep in.

            “Who hasn’t ever said anything to your face?” Fred and Lee seated themselves on the grass, Fred notably sitting closer to Susanna than was strictly necessary.

            “Finnigan,” Susanna said, hardly sparing Fred a glance although Harry noticed her lips had turned up at the corners.

            “What has dear Seamus been saying about Harry?” Fred said with a hint of threat in his voice.

            “That is why he’s never said anything to your face, Harry," remarked Hermione, “he knows that his opinion is a relatively unpopular one.”

            “Plus he’d probably get hexed,” said Susanna with an evil grin, “it helps to be friends with the most talented witch of your year and a family that makes up half of Gryffindor.” She idly turned her turtle back into a rock. “Also, Cedric is the most liked boy in Hufflepuff – he’d probably lose any standing he had if he antagonized you directly, along with his hair and possibly a few limbs.”

            “But apparently he’s fine talking about it to other people,” Harry said darkly.  Cedric frowned from where he was now sitting up beside him and pressed his shoulder into Harry’s in comfort.  Harry wasn’t sure why he was so bothered by Seamus’ apparent rejection.  He had dealt with it just fine from Malfoy and had only felt righteous anger towards Amos Diggory.  Maybe it was because Harry considered Seamus to be, if not a friend, at least a close acquaintance.  He suddenly had a deeper appreciation of what Cedric must have gone through with his dad.

            “If Seamus wants to be an ignorant prat, that’s his business,” said Ron fiercely, “what he thinks is not worth anything, and the same goes for everybody else who would judge somebody for something they can’t control.”

            His statement was met by general surprise from the group.  The surprise was mostly pleasant, Harry’s eyes actually stung a little and a curious warmth took root in his stomach.  Hermione, on the other hand, actually looked quite flushed.

            “There may be hope for you yet, Ron,” said Fred.

~0oo0~

            _“Expecto patronum!”_

A thin wisp of silver exited the tip of Cedric’s wand and hovered like a small cloud of fine mist over the pool in the prefect’s bathroom.  Harry idly observed it from where he was leaning        against the side of the pool, perfume and afterglow making him loose and relaxed.

            “Don’t you think it’s an odd time for homework?” Harry asked.

            “It’s never a bad time to practice,” responded Cedric smartly, “and besides, this isn’t really homework so much as… extra credit,”

            “What exactly is it?”

            “The Patronus charm – Professor Moody told us about it in class.  It’s extremely difficult to accomplish, and only wizards of significant power are able to cast it,” he said. “You’re supposed to focus on your happiest memory – the happier the better,” before once again attempting the charm, leading to much the same result and a frustrated Cedric.

            “What does it do, exactly?” asked Harry, curious now.

            “It’s main use is to ward away Dementors,” Cedric said.  The name alone sent a shiver down Harry’s spine.  He had never personally encountered a Dementor (a fact he was extremely grateful for) but knew they guarded Azkaban. “But Professor Moody also told us the charm can be used as a light source or to send messages.”

            “And exactly how difficult is it?” Harry asked interestedly.

            “It’s beyond N.E.W.T. level – most wizards are unable to summon any form of the charm.  Professor Moody gave me twenty points for being able to cast this much.”

            “So… what’s you’re happiest memory?” Harry asked, trying to sound innocently curious.

            “Um… it’s nothing really,” Cedric said, suddenly embarrassed.

            “Come on, you can tell me,” Harry said, not even hiding his curiosity now.

            “Well… it’s about you…” Cedric didn’t look merely embarrassed anymore, he looked genuinely afraid.

            “Was it the first time we were… you know… together?”

            There was a significant pause. “No…” Cedric said hesitantly.

            “There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Harry said comfortingly, taking Cedric’s hesitance as a confirmation. “I don’t mind if it was – it’s flattering, actually.”

            “It’s not that,” Cedric insisted, although he was now smiling slightly. “It’s actually the night I came to your house, after that… ‘row’ with my dad.”

            “How?” Harry thought that would be the Cedric’s worst memory, if anything.

            “Because…” Cedric actually appeared to be on the edge of panic.

            “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Harry said quickly.

            Taking a deep breath, Cedric willed himself to calm down. “No,” he said, “I want to tell you – God do I want to tell you – it’s just…” he tried to put his words together.  He looked over at Harry, looking at his face as if searching for something. “Harry,” he said in a shaky voice, “can you promise me that you won’t react badly?  And know that I do not expect anything from you until you’re absolutely ready?”

            “Of course,” Harry agreed with no hesitance.

            “The reason that night is my happiest memory is because…” the pause stretched out as Cedric began to gather himself.  Finally, with a deep breath, he said “… it was the night I realized I was in love with you.”

            That stopped Harry short. “Oh,” he said intelligently.

            “You don’t have to say it back,” Cedric said quickly. “And I won’t say it again until you’re ready to reciprocate.  I just want you to know that – that’s the happiest memory I have.”

            “Thank you,” said Harry simply, feeling that even after everything he was unable to say with certainty that he loved Cedric.

            Harry’s guilt was assuaged somewhat, though, when Cedric attempted the Patronus again and the silver mist that came out was larger and brighter than before.


	25. Be Prepared

            “What in the hell have I ever said that could make her think that was okay?” Ron moaned, his forehead planted on their table in a relatively secluded corner of the library.

            “Come on Ron, it’s not that bad,” said Hermione cheerily.

            Hermione had woken them up far too early on a Saturday morning to drag them to the library to study.  They had grumbled all the way down to the common room where they were accosted by Lavender Brown, at which Ron suddenly became much more enthusiastic to the idea of studying, with _no_ distractions whatsoever.  Lavender did not allow Ron to leave, however; at least not without giving him her present.  The large golden necklace, hanging from which were the words “My Sweetheart” in large letters, was now currently stuffed in the deepest recesses of Ron’s bag.  Lavender was sure to give him this gift in full view of Hermione who was far more pleased than Lavender was probably anticipating.

            “At least Fred and George didn’t see it,” Harry said, attempting to be helpful.  Ron actually paled at the mere thought.

            “But it’s not as if you two actually _talk_ to each other, is it?” said Hermione, trying to be helpful but still far more cheerful than normal.

            “Guess not,” Ron mumbled.

            “What’s up?” Cedric said, walking up looking a bit more jittery than usual.  He gave Harry a quick kiss on the temple before sitting down in the chair beside him.

            “Just studying,” Harry said, earning a grateful look from Ron, “what’s up with you?  You said you were supposed to learn what the third task was going to be,”

            “Yes,” Cedric said, looking around them before leaning in, “they’re growing a maze on the Quidditch pitch,”

            “The Quidditch pitch?” hissed Harry, horrified.  Ron looked equally outraged while Hermione rolled her eyes and Cedric gave them a sympathetic look.

            “Don’t worry – they’re going to fix it after the task,” he said.  “Anyway, they’re growing a maze in the Quidditch pitch, and put a bunch of obstacles in there for us to get by,”

            “What kind of obstacles?” asked Ron.

            “Dangerous creatures, spells, that sort of thing,” Cedric said.  Harry noticed that he was tapping his fingers nervously.

            “So when’s the task?” asked Harry.  He put his hand on Cedric’s and their hands automatically linked together, but he winced with how tight Cedric gripped his hand.

            “Twenty-fourth of June,” said Cedric.

            “That should give us plenty of time to prepare,” said Hermione, closing her book. “We can get together for practice once a day at least.  Susanna can help too, she lived with the Malfoys after all, so she probably knows spells that we don’t – curses and hexes especially,” she eyebrows scrunched together contemplatively, “We can practice in an empty classroom, I do not think the teachers will protest us ‘studying’ together…”

            “Won’t they, though?” said Cedric worriedly, “I’m technically supposed to do it by myself…”

            “Rubbish,” dismissed Hermione, “you know Fleur and Viktor are getting help.  And besides, Harry warned you about the dragon and Professor Moody told you about the egg.  What’s the harm in bending the rules a little more?”

            There was a pronounced silence.

            “Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione?” said Ron, now the one looking flustered.

~0 Susanna 0~

            “Stop being so fidgety, Susie.”

            Susanna gave her friend a harsh look, “I am not being fidgety!” she hissed.

            “Yes you are, in your own way,” Carina rolled her eyes, “it’ll be fine.  Professor Snape likes you, and with the marks you get you could say Minister for Magic and he’d tell you to go for it.”

            “I suppose so,” Susanna acquiesced.

            “Or,” Carina said thoughtfully, “he could have turned on you since you became friends with Harry and all.”

            Susanna only gave her a blank look before checking the time, “I’d better get on my way,” she sighed.

            “Good luck, Hermione – I mean, Susie,” said Carina with a smile.

            “See you later, _Audrey_ ,” Susie said sweetly, earning a narrow-eyed glare from her friend.  Carina always hated it when anybody used her first name.

            Susanna stepped outside of the common room into the corridor.  Most people would shiver upon entering this part of the castle, but Susanna had long grown used to it.  The gloom of the dungeons seemed almost homely to her at this point.  Still, even Slytherins rarely felt the need to explore these corridors at night.  Luckily, Snape’s office was a relatively short walk from the common room and within minutes she stood outside of the door, exactly on time.

            Susanna rapped the door two times, and a drawled “come in” answered followed by the door falling open.

            Even if the dungeons managed to appear homely after a while, Professor Snape’s office made even the Slytherins feel nervous, if not nauseous.  Dozens of jars of things Susanna would rather not describe floated in potions of various colors in jars that adorned the shelves.  Susanna’s eyes flicked to the cupboard where the Professor’s personal supply of ingredients was kept.

            As unwelcoming as the room was, it matched its owner near-perfectly.  Susanna doubted she had ever seen Professor Snape truly happy.  The closest she had ever seen was polite neutrality, which she was glad to see he was showing her now.

            “Take a seat, Miss Lestrange,” Snape drawled in a voice that could almost be considered pleasant.  Still, Susanna hastened to obey his instruction, promptly taking the seat across from him.

            “As I’m sure you are well aware, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss any careers you may be interested in, and to help you decide which subjects you should continue in,” Professor Snape said, sounding rather bored. “Do you have any ideas as to what career you may be interested in?”

            For an insane moment, Susanna was tempted to say Minister for Magic just to see how the professor would react.

            “Well…” Susanna began,  “I was thinking of working for the Ministry, preferably in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.” She paused before adding, “Eventually, though, I think I’d like to return to Hogwarts as a teacher.”

            “Any particular subject you would like to teach?” Professor Snape asked, now appearing almost interested.

            “Transfiguration, preferably,” said Susanna immediately. “Although I wouldn’t mind teaching Charms… or Defense Against the Dark Arts,” she added the last one on hesitantly.  It was no secret how badly Professor Snape wanted the position, and how much he hoped to attain it once Professor Moody left at the end of the year.

            Professor Snape showed no visible reaction though, only nodding and shuffling through the papers on his desk. “There are no specific requirements for becoming a teacher, but a N.E.W.T. on the subject you wish to teach is always recommended.  Luckily, your grades in all three of those subjects are exemplary – Professor McGonagall especially is happy with your work, I notice,” he looked at a note on his desk. “Also, with your marks it should be no problem for you to find work in the Ministry until a teaching position becomes open.

            “However, if you are passionate about Transfiguration, I would suggest extra training from Professor McGonagall to help you further your research in the subject,” Professor Snape put the papers into careful order with a flick of his wand. “I will be sure to inform Minerva of your interest as well as supply my recommendation.”

            “Th-thank you, Professor,” stammered Susanna, surprised at receiving such a high compliment from the unusually stern teacher.

            “You have been a credit to Slytherin House, Miss Lestrange.  Keep up the good work and you will go very far,” Professor Snape gave her a sharp look. “You should also be weary of falling prey to bad influences.”

            “Of course, Professor,” said Susanna.  She recognized the barb towards her recent group of friends.  Snape nodded one more time and Susanna, recognizing it for the dismissal it was, took her leave.


	26. For Luck

            “You said Hagrid would be providing the creatures?”

            “That’s what Bagman said,” Cedric confirmed.

            Susanna only nodded, eyebrows scrunched together in a way that eerily reminded Harry of Hermione.

            “Okay, so at least we can guess what those creatures may be – the blast-ended skrewts, probably, and I heard that he has a colony of acromantulas living in the forest,” Ron and Cedric both paled.  “The Ministry will also provide some creatures, I assume – I heard a rumor about a sphinx.  I’d also bet gold that there will be a boggart.  We’ll also have to work on dueling –“

            “Dueling?” said Harry, surprised. “You think they’ll put wizards in the maze for them to duel?”

            “I meant each other,” Susanna clarified. “Durmstrang has a reputation for the Dark Arts and Fleur is about as much of a fairy princess as Professor Moody.”

            “At least Cedric’s immune to her charms.  Might be harder than if it were say… Harry in the maze,” Carina added with a sly smirk.  Cedric pouted at her.

            “That is true,” Hermione said, as if Carina’s blunt remark was meant as an intelligent observation rather than a teasing slight. “So we’ll work on hexes – nothing too dangerous for the dueling, I’m sure they don’t want the champions to actually hurt each other.”

            “I can help him with dueling, and I think I may have something for an acromantula and I have a theory or two about the blast-ended skrewt,” said Susanna.

            “Wait, isn’t Cedric a year above you?” said Fred from where he was sitting beside George, who had not contributed thus far except to smirk at Carina’s jab.

            “Yeah, so?” said Susanna impatiently.

            “So, wouldn’t he naturally know more about dueling than you?  And yet you’re talking about teaching him,” Fred said.  Hermione rolled her eyes exasperatedly and even Harry internally was somewhere between amused and annoyed.  Fred lately seemed to take joy in antagonizing Susanna, which Hermione suspected and Harry and George agreed was Fred pulling her pigtails.

            “If you doubt my abilities, Freddie, you can always help me with a demonstration,” Susanna grinned challengingly.  She pulled out her wand and aimed it tauntingly at Fred.

            Fred smiled jauntily, “Don’t mind if I do,” he pulled out his own wand.  Susanna arched one eyebrow in surprise but otherwise did not show any reaction.  Harry had a sense of foreboding and moved to give the two plenty of room, everyone else following suit.  They had already cleared the desks away so there was plenty of space.  The two stood on opposite sides and held their wands out like swords.

            “One,” George counted, “two… three!”

            Both of them raised their wands above their heads and pointed them at each other.  Fred shouted out _‘Expelliarmus!’_ and a jet of scarlet light shot at Susanna.  Without a word Susanna deflected the spell and sent a stunning spell which Fred barely dodged, the spell missing his head by an inch.

            The others in the room had flattened themselves against the wall to avoid the spells the two sent at each other.  Harry was surprised at how skillful Fred was – he had switched to casting spells nonverbally as well, and was actually quite skillful.  Harry was surprised at how much Susanna missed, the spells missing Fred by inches.  It took Harry a second to realize that Susanna was missing him _on purpose_ , corralling him from side to side.  Harry was distinctly reminded of the muggle cartoons his mother would sometimes let him watch where the man would shoot his gun at the other character’s feet in order to make them dance.

            “Could we wrap this up before a teacher walks in and wonders why you two are trying to kill each other?” said George impatiently.

            It was hard to be sure, but he could have sworn that he heard the faintest sigh.  Fred sent another spell at Susanna which was deflected just as easy as the others.  She sent another spell at Fred but instead of missing like the others the spell struck dead-on, and Fred’s legs and arms snapped together as the body-bind curse took effect.  He fell backwards like a falling tree, and Susanna smiled in satisfaction.

            “You’re up, Cedric,” she said smoothly.

            “Um,” said Cedric, wide eyes looking dubiously at Fred frozen on the floor. “What were your theories about the skrewts?”

~0 June 23rd 0~

            “Oh!” Susanna gasped as her wand flew out of her hand and across the room where Cedric caught it.

            Harry, Ron, Hermione and Carina applauded from where they sat around the room.  Privately, Harry thought Susanna looked rather tired – the O.W.L. exams had taken their toll on her.  Carina’s eyes had been drooping all evening.  Ron wasn’t doing much better, Harry’s nerves on behalf of Cedric were what kept him awake and Hermione was remaining alert by sheer willpower alone.  Cedric looked so relieved that Harry would never mention this – after all, it wasn’t that Cedric was bad so much as Susanna was preternaturally good.  Over the course of the month, between going over spells Cedric had gone rounds with each of them and winning against all of them except Harry (although that was due more or to Cedric’s unwillingness to jinx his boyfriend than any skill on Harry’s part).

            “I think we’ve done all we can do,” Carina yawned, “we all need to get some sleep – all of us still have exams tomorrow,”

            “She’s right,” Cedric said, “you all need to get ready for bed, I’ll clean up here.”

            The rest of them went to leave except, predictably, Harry.  Hermione just gave him a fond look and told him not to stay too long.  As they filed out of the door Cedric started moving the desks back into place using his wand.  By the time the tables were back in order they were completely alone.

            “You need sleep too Harry,” Cedric said, although his eyes sparkled.  He also moved to crowd Harry against the desk, further belying his words.  He put his hands on Harry’s waist and nuzzled lazily against his hair.

            “So do you,” argued Harry. “Besides, I wanted to wish you luck in case I don’t get a chance tomorrow,” Cedric’s lips began catching on Harry’s ear, so softly that Harry could almost believe it was an accident.  Then Cedric’s lips started pressing against Harry’s neck, trailing down to his collar bone.

            “I thought you were supposed to be the good influence,” Harry said in a breathy voice.

            Cedric pulled back far enough that he could look Harry in the eyes, revealing a grin that looked uncharacteristically wicked.  Harry wondered what it said about him that that grin made him feel hot under his collar.

            “What can I say?  I’m feeling rebellious,” Cedric said blithely.  His hands ran lazily up and down Harry’s sides.

            “Among other things,” said Harry teasingly. “Do you think we have time for this?”

            “If we’re quick,” Cedric said roughly, working at Harry’s robes.

            “How do we know someone won’t walk in?”

            Cedric pointed his wand at the door and said _“Colloportus!”_ and with that the door closed with a tell-tale squelching sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're nearing the end, people!


	27. Spiders and Snakes

            The morning of the Third Task was noisy and rambunctious, especially at the Hufflepuff table.  Harry watched as Cedric’s fan club – which had finally been allowed to reclaim him – plied their champion with well wishes.  Every once in a while, Cedric and his eyes would meet across the room and they would share a smile.  Hermione tried again to call Harry’s attention back to where she was trying to quiz him for their History of Magic final and, reluctantly, Harry returned his attention to Hermione.

            The post owls arrived, including a letter from James and Lily telling Harry to wish Cedric good luck for them and bringing Hermione her morning copy of the _Daily Prophet_.  Harry’s anxiety for Cedric made it more difficult for him to eat, until eventually they were required to leave for class.

            His anxiety followed him through the rest of the morning, so he was barely able to focus through his History of Magic exam.  Granted, he likely would not have been able to focus anyway, but his anxiety certainly did not help.  It was lunch before he found Cedric again, this time accompanied by Mrs. Diggory.

            “Hello, Harry,” said Mrs. Diggory, pulling him into a tight hug.  Harry returned it warmly, smiling at an embarrassed Cedric over his shoulder.

            “Mum,” complained Cedric weakly.

            “Oh, don’t worry Ced, I’m not here to hog Harry – there’ll be plenty of time for that while you’re in the maze,” she let Harry free and stood back.  Cedric immediately brought Harry into a hug of his own, Harry’s face planted in Cedric’s shoulder as Cedric exhales against his hair.  The hug is rather shorter than it would have been had Mrs. Diggory not been there.

            Mrs. Diggory insisted on eating lunch with Gryffindor – the house she had herself been sorted in.  Harry and Cedric sat together, pressed tightly together.  Hermione and the Weasleys soon joined them, eventually joined by Carina and Susanna, who quizzed Cedric over the spells they had been practicing.

            “Good lord, Susanna, don’t you have your own tests to worry about?” Fred laughed.

            “I can do both,” retorted Susanna smartly.

            Lunch passed with more bantering between Fred and Susanna until they had to go to class, Cedric bidding Harry goodbye with a quick kiss.

            That evening, the champions were dismissed to the Quidditch Pitch, followed five minutes later by the rest of the student body.  As they filtered into the stands, Harry caught sight of Cedric standing with Ludo Bagman and the other two champions, who were joined by Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Moody.  Harry and Mrs. Diggory were both trying to catch Cedric’s eye (although success was rather unlikely) when a faintly familiar voice caught Harry’s attention.

            “Susie!”

            Harry looked at up and saw the tall form of Delphini Lestrange sweeping down the row towards them, followed by Barty Crouch Jr., who was chatting with a tall, handsome man.  Harry looked at Susanna, who was wearing an expression of such polite distaste that he suddenly noticed her impressive resemblance to Narcissa Malfoy.

            “Delphi,” said Susanna rather stiffly.

            “I was hoping I would see you here!  Barty and I decided to drop by and watch the last task, seeing as Barty’s father is judging and all,” she seemed to take no notice of the cold expression on her sister’s face.  “Also Troy and Vera wanted to watch and take a chance to let Silena and Janus see the grounds – Silena will be coming to Hogwarts next year,”

            Harry examined the handsome family that was trailing behind, looking on interestedly.  The man was tall and pale with dark hair and eyes, the woman had softer brown hair and lighter eyes.  Accompanying them were a small girl of around eleven and a boy of around eight, both of whom were copies of their father.  Behind them was a young man who resembled the older man other than his hazel eyes which he used to examine Susanna with pronounced interest.  Fred, who had taken a seat beside Susanna, was glaring back.

            “And of course you remember Gareth,” continued Delphini, indicating the young man, who smiled charmingly. “I believe you used to have such a crush on him.”

            Susanna only nodded stiffly, which did not seem to deter Gareth.  The opposite, his smile only grew wider.  Delphini sat down, giving a dull look to Carina who was sitting uncomfortably between them.  Several seconds pass in silence that Susanna does not seem inclined to fill, staring determinately forward.

            “I have some good news,” said Delphini, trying to break the silence, “Uncle Rabastan will be returning home soon.”

            Clearly Susanna did not find this to be good news.  Her eyes widened and her alabaster skin became somehow even paler.  Her mouth opened in a gasp of shock as her head whipped around to stare at her sister.

            “They’re letting him out of Azkaban?  Why?” hissed Susanna.

            Delphini frowned, clearly finding Susanna’s reaction and blunt manner improper. “Does it really matter?  Surely this is nothing but good news, us being reunited with a part of our family,”

            Susanna’s face changed from shocked to furious in the space of a second before calming down into a neutral mask that was somehow more dangerous.

            “True,” said Susanna sweetly. “Perhaps I can tell him about some of the things I’ve learned in school – I don’t believe Uncle Rabastan ever took Muggle Studies,”

            Delphini’s face tightened and she opened her mouth to respond, but Susanna wasn’t done yet.

            “Inventive, muggles,” she commented, “they don’t have magic so they solve everything using their own resourcefulness – quite impressive.”

            “In their own way, I suppose,” Delphini said coolly.  The Riddle’s looked slightly nervous with the exception of Gareth Riddle, who looked quite amused.

            “I think, daresay, that I could even see myself marrying a muggle,” she said idly, as I commenting on the weather. “The intelligence of some of them is quite extraordinary – the type of quality I’d love to have passed onto my children,”

            “Susanna – “ began Delphini warningly before being cut off.

            “Although I suppose centaurs are also intelligent,” Susanna said, voice now full of spite. “Being married to one does not sound unpleasant.  I’m sure you’ve heard that saying about horses.”

~0 Cedric 0~

            As the four patrollers left to station themselves around the maze, Cedric felt anxiety curl in his stomach.  He looked up the stands and spotted Harry halfway up the stands beside his Mum.  Cedric waved at them and they both waved back, beaming.  Cedric noticed Susanna sitting a few seats away from Harry, in an argument with another woman that seemed to be rather heated.  Fred and George Weasley, sitting beside them, were either laughing or seizing or both.

            _“Sonorus!”_ Ludo Bagman’s enhanced voice echoed into the stands.

            “Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin!  Let me remind you how the current points stand!  In first place, with eighty-five points – Mr. Cedric Diggory, of Hogwarts School!” The cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden forest flying into the darkening sky.

            Krum and Fleur were also announced to a slightly muter response.

            “So, on my whistle, Cedric!” said Bagman.  “Three – two – one – “

            At the trill of his whistle, Cedric hurried forward into the maze.  The first thing he noticed was how immediately silent it became once he entered the maze, the towering walls of the maze instantly becoming oppressing.  He pulled out his wand and muttered _“Lumos,”_ and was immediately relieved at the light that emitted from his wand.  At about fifty yards, he reached a fork, and he took a right.

            Bagman’s whistle announced Krum’s entry into the maze and Cedric’s sense of urgency increased.  At first his path seemed completely deserted, Bagman’s third whistle announcing that all of the champions were now inside.

            Suddenly a huge, looming shape reared out of the path in front of him.  The blast-ended skrewt had rapidly grown from the wriggling maggot it had once resembled into something resembling a giant scorpion.  The thick armor glinted from the light of Cedric’s wand.

            _“Stupefy!”_

            The spell rebounded from the armor and Cedric barely dodged in time, but could smell his hair burn.  The skrewt emitted a blast of fire and shot at him, he barely avoided the claws but the sleeve of his robe was smoking.  Cedric decided to try one of the curses that Susanna had taught him.

            _“Arania exumai!”_ he shouted.  A jet of blue light shot towards the monster.

            The spell was technically meant for spiders, but Cedric hoped the skrewt was as close to an arachnid as it looked.  He was proven moderately right – the spell forced the massive creature back a few inches, and caused it to rear up, exposing it’s soft underside.

            _“Impedimenta!”_

This time the skrewt froze in its tracks and Cedric took his chance to escape.  He used the Four-Point Spell, telling him he needed to the next right.  After several dead ends, he reached a fork in the path, but slowed as he heard voices.

            Cedric paused, extinguishing his wand and creeping forward quietly and trying to pick up what the voices were saying.  Soon he began to recognize words and that the voices were arguing.

            “You don’t vont to do this,” came the low, warning voice of Viktor Krum.  Cedric couldn’t make out the response, but could recognize the voice as Fleur’s, and a red jet of light shot in front of Cedric, having missed its target.  Susanna’s words on Fleur came back to him;

_“Very prideful, Beauxbatons.  You saw how miserable each of them was when they weren’t chosen.  Fleur will be desperate, especially since she’s in last place – she’ll be willing to do almost anything to win,”_

Cedric was suddenly very happy that Susanna had insisted on dueling practice.  More shouts followed accompanied jets of light and Cedric wondered whether he should go back and try to find another path.  Quickly realizing that going back would waste mounds of precious time, he racked his brain for a way to get past without being noticed and was considering just making a run for it when one of the spells he had learned over the last month occurred to him.

            He held his wand above his head and cast the Disillusionment Charm, feeling the distinct sensation of having a raw egg cracked above his head as the charm covered him.  When he looked down at his body, it was unrecognizable.  He now fit in perfectly with the environment around him.  Cedric knew it wouldn’t hide him from someone who knew what to look for, but hopefully Fleur and Krum would be so engaged in their duel that they would not notice.

            Cedric stepped out into the path, keeping close to the wall to avoid the spells that Fleur and Krum were sending at each other.  Cedric kept his wand help out as he moved to slip past Krum, keeping his wand held out in case he had to shield himself in case one of the spells was deflected towards him.  Fleur truly was no fairy princess – she weaved and ducked with dangerous determination.  Krum was no slouch either, despite how duck-footed he appeared on land.

            Cedric crept until he reached the next left, diving out of the line of fire.  He moved quickly along the paths, keeping a lookout for other obstacles.  His wand told him to take the next left but when he did he wished he hadn’t.

            The word “acromantula” popped immediately into his head.  The spider was gigantic, towering over Cedric and looking like Ron Weasley’s worst nightmare.  Cedric felt his heart drop into his stomach as panic clawed its way through his body.  He nearly fainted when the black hairy body swung around and the black, bulbous eyes fell on him.  The creature started towards him and Cedric pointed his wand towards it and shouted his best hope.

            _“Arania exumai!”_

            The great spider was enclosed in bright blue light and lifted off its feet, landing on its back with its legs twitching in the air and crushing a section of the maze in the process.  As Cedric ran by the twitching monster, he made a promise that if he won he’d buy Susanna absolutely anything she wants with his prize money.

            He ran onto the path and immediately spotted the Triwizard Cup glowing softly fifty yards away.  Heart beating loudly, he took off for the cup and in the process not paying total attention to his surroundings.  It was by sheer luck that the stunning spell missed his head.  He swung around and came face to face with Fleur Delacour, who must have won her duel with Krum.  Another spell shot at him, Cedric blocking it this time.  Cedric sent a Disarming Charm at her, which she flicked aside. Cedric was not quite quick enough to avoid the Leg-Locker Curse, his legs binding together and Cedric falling onto his arse.  Fleur smiled victoriously, but Cedric wasn’t done yet.

            _“Avis!”_ he shouted, a small flock of birds flew from the tip of his wand.  Fleur was so bemused by this that she didn’t notice Cedric point his wand at her.

            _“Oppugno!”_

Instantly, the flock of birds dived towards Fleur, shrieking murderously.  Fleur hurried to cover her face, forgetting about Cedric.

            _“Petrificus totalus!”_

Fleur’s arms snapped to her sides and her feet locked together and, still being mobbed by the birds, fell ungracefully to the ground.  With a quick _“Finite incantatem,”_ Cedric freed up his legs.  After getting up he, with a moment’s hesitation, vanished the birds still pecking at Fleur.

            He moved towards the Cup, slower this time.  At least at first he moved slower; impatience soon got the better of him and he graduated to a fast walk and then to a run.  He reached out for the cup, gripping the handle and feeling a jerk in his naval.  He thought of Harry’s face as he was jerked into a howl of wind and swirling color.


	28. No Point In Goodbye

            “You do promise you’ll visit?”

            Cedric smiled down at him. “I’ll be breaking down your door by tomorrow morning,” he promised.

            They were standing together at King’s Cross, having just exited the Hogwarts express.  They had been given little chance to speak on the way back, the Hufflepuffs still celebrating their newfound glory and winning the House Cup to boot – the first time Hufflepuff had won the award in over three decades.  Professor Sprout had been radiating pride surrounded by the yellow decor of the Great Hall at the End-of-Term feast.

            Fleur had apologized for her “over-competitiveness” when bidding them goodbye while informing them that she would be working at Gringotts to work on her English.  She had ended it by giving them both kisses on the cheek, Cedric putting his arm around Harry when he blushed.  Viktor had bid them a generic farewell, but was more heartfelt with Hermione, much to Ron’s annoyance.  Fred and George were now Susanna’s biggest fans after her confrontation with her sister, which Harry sometimes chuckled to himself just thinking about.

            “And I’ll be beating down your door soon enough,” Harry joked back.  Cedric was going to rent a flat for the Summer near Godric’s Hollow using his Triwizard winnings.

            “If I’m not carrying you over the threshold,” Cedric said. “I think we’d better get this on with,” he sighed, looking over his shoulder.

            Harry turned around, where their respective parents were waiting patiently.  Harry noticed gratefully that they were pointedly not looking at them.  Hermione was already greeting her family and the Molly was fussing over her children.  Susanna was greeting Tonks warmly and Carina was talking to her parents, a tall, elegant blonde witch and a cheerful, portly muggle.

            .”I guess so,” Harry conceded, not feeling too disappointed considering he and Cedric would be spending a _lot_ of the summer together.  Linking their hands, they went to rejoin their families.


End file.
